Of Big Brothers and Little Brothers
by The Mighty Duck
Summary: A series of Tony and Bruce becoming like brothers as well as examining Natasha's relationship with Bruce.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! This is my first time writing an Avengers fanfic so I hope you enjoy.

I am such a fan of science bros so I thought I would try my hand at writing a bit of a series about Tony and Bruce's friendship. Natasha and Bruce's establishing relationship was just something that crept up.

Anyway, I read a comment one day of how in the first movie, Tony really acted like a big brother to Bruce. That really struck true with me so I thought I would give that a try, writing their friendship as brothers. Because I really do see them as brothers. Even though Tony is the irresponsible one, I see him as really protective of Bruce.

Also, I have written Natasha differently from the way I've seen her written. I see her as more expressive in the movies. She has facial expressions, even though she is often calculating, and she also seems to have a genuine affection for Tony as well.

So, all in all, let me know what you think in comments, and if y'all would like it continued!

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Natasha was more than slightly ashamed to say it was Thor that pinpointed it all before everyone else. It wasn't that Natasha hadn't noticed. She was the infamous Black Widow after all. She noticed minutiae details almost as much as Clint.

Probably more in this case because Clint was slightly oblivious to some social clues. In a battle, he was flawless, calling out patterns and noticing threats fifty clicks away. But socially? The poor guy took forever to put it together that Laura, his current wife, didn't actually need all the sugar she kept on asking to borrow. If it wasn't for Laura's advances becoming less and less subtle until she was the one that asked him out on a date, Natasha doubted Cooper or Lila would be here.

Still though, despite Natasha noticing it all, she still didn't pinpoint it the way Thor did. It was more than a little annoying. Thinking back on it all, she really should have, but she was going to plead ignorance in sibling interactions if teased about it (Clint, I'm death glaring at you).

In the beginning, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner's friendship was logical, even if a slight improbable. They were both geniuses so of course they would have a common ground. Natasha had thought though that Tony's tactlessness might scare Bruce. The guy was downright skittish. She knew he would have run in that shack back in Kolkata if he hadn't figured out that it hadn't been, 'Just you and me'. Then, he had taken great pleasure in unnerving her because he was scared by feeling trapped.

Immediately, it appeared she was right about the two of them. Bruce had shrunk back in on himself when Tony had babbled on about a 'giant, green rage monster' and remained fairly quiet the rest of time he was in the presence of everyone.

However, after the whole battle on the Helicarrier, Tony predicted his movements better than everyone else on the team, including the strategist that was Captain America.

So, when Bruce had asked for his duffle bag from her, saying he was going to spend a bit of time at Stark Tower, Natasha had been slightly surprised, though understood that they may have bonded over their love of science and had also been unwillingly pleased. For some unknown reason, she didn't like the thought of Bruce slinking off to some hidden corner of the world. Maybe it had to do with that he did just help save all their lives. He deserved a bit of comfort. And even though she would never say it out loud, Tony could be annoyingly likeable and she had figured out pretty quickly that he had a bit more heart than he often showed. They might even do each other good.

That was what she was hoping for anyway. Secretly, she was worried that she was going to see the Hulk on television, smashing away at Stark Tower.

Still though, even she could never have predicted what she would walk into that day on the Helicarrier when Fury insisted they had a team meeting, exactly two months after the battle with Loki, to try to maintain the connections that they formed when defeating the Chitauri. Natasha could see the logic behind that. After they stopped their bickering, they worked seamlessly together so it would be stupid to let that go.

Walking through the sliding doors, Clint right by her side, she took in everything in one quick sweep. Steve Rogers was at the right of the conference table, closest to Fury who was standing at the head of the table. Steve was forever the soldier, straight backed, clear blue eyes attentive and bright. He nodded at both her and Clint, and a genuine sideways grin was evident on his lips.

Thor was directly across from Steve. All though he was a warrior as well, he obviously perceived no threat as he lounged in his chair, smiling openly at her and Clint. Natasha smiled softly back at the both of them, particularly at Thor, because she couldn't help but feel happy that her arrival hadn't made him feel in danger, despite being the assassin she was.

'See, I told you we were too early. We were even here before Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood.'

She didn't have to turn to see who was talking, but she did anyway.

Tony wasn't even looking at her and Clint. This was surprising in itself because usually when he chucked out nicknames, he always watched to see what sort of reaction it would garner. Instead, his arms were crossed while his large brown eyes were dark as he pouted at the oak table like it had done him a great wrong.

If Natasha wasn't Black Widow, she would have had to do a double take to see who it was sitting next to Tony.

Bruce looked different. His curls were still wild, but he was dressed fairly nicely, a simple blue shirt and black jacket, both which looked the highest in quality while his hands were for once still. That wasn't it though. It was his large smile, so out of place for such a usually unassuming man. Though he wasn't looking up, it was very bright. He was seated so close to Tony that their arms were almost brushing up against each other. He wasn't so slumped. His eyes were unavailable for her to see because they were closed in what looked like mirth.

Her attention was redirected from Bruce to Tony, whose eyes had darted away from the table to glance at Bruce. Invisible to everyone else but Natasha, she saw the skin around his eyes crinkle the way it always did when he was happy. This usually just meant Pepper walked into the room, but the strawberry redhead was as far away as she could be. All though Tony kept up an over-exaggerated pout, his arms loosened and he playfully slumped against Bruce's side.

The most shocking thing about this scene wasn't that Tony was easily touching someone who wasn't Pepper or even Rhodey, though it was a close second. No, the most shocking thing was that Bruce didn't even flinch. The man usually ducked down if someone jogged too close to his personal space let alone touch him.

The action simply caused Bruce to peek up at the engineer, eyes bright with something Natasha couldn't immediately identify and didn't have time to as Clint spoke up.

'As hilarious as ever, Stark,' he remarked, jumping into a seat, somehow balancing on the back despite it being a tilting chair. 'Tell me, do you rehearse these before you come in because you have so little things to do?'

Natasha silently slipped into her seat as Tony perked up, recognising the impending verbal battle.

'I'm a brilliant multi-tasker, Legolas,' he drawled. 'I can quote the first thousand numbers in pi, utilize quantum tunnelling effects to produce energy, straighten Bruce's hair,' here, Bruce snorted, causing Tony's eyes to crinkle more, but he didn't miss a beat as he continued, 'invent a new alloy that will compete with vibranium, choreograph a better dance routine to _Single Ladies_ , calm down Pepper about the half dozen SI meetings I've missed and still come up with lovable nicknames for you and Itsy-Bitsy.'

Clint could easily come up with a comeback. Natasha knew he could. He had at times made Phil Coulsen, one of the most apathetic people Natasha had ever met, actually get an eye twitch.

It happened once when Clint had started doing a mission debriefing all with a flawless Irish accent because the mood had hit him. It got to the point that Coulsen could hardly understand him. Each time Coulsen calmly asked, 'Please speak, English,' Clint proclaimed, 'Aye, laddie, I am!'

Natasha would have looked at strangling Clint with the piece of wire she hid up her sleeve if it hadn't been so damn entertaining to actually see Coulsen get slightly flustered.

Now, Clint's face broke into a large grin, eyes appraising as he took in Stark. 'You choreograph dancers?' He settled with saying with just a hint of a laugh in his words.

Tony raised his arms out wide in a dramatic gesture, accidentally clipping the end of Bruce's nose. 'Have you not seen my Stark expo? And here I thought you saw everything!'

Fury looked like he was about to have a seizure when Bruce jerked back, but the physicist simply rolled his eyes fondly and leaned back so he was out of range of Tony's gesticulating hands. Steve's mouth was opening and closing like he was trying to decide where was the best place to jump in to try to redirect the conversation to something that was actually Avengers' business. Thor was just grinning at what was being played out.

'I see everything of value, Stark,' Clint corrected, his breath only hitching minutely when Tony had connected with Bruce. Once again, Natasha knew she was the only one that noticed. Her senses had jumped about ten-fold when it happened and she still felt ready to spring from her seat even though it looked like Bruce was the furthest thing from becoming the Hulk.

'And I reiterate: have you not _seen_ Stark expo? Tony magnanimously flicked his fingers towards Steve. 'If I'd choreographed the USO girls, all those films wouldn't be so damn embarrassing. No wonder he blushes so much on the shows. I would too if I had those dance routines going on behind me.'

The comment had the effect Tony was obviously aiming for. Steve blushed instantly.

This time, Clint didn't hold back. He burst into laughter, dipping his head slightly, eyes once again intently on Tony.

Tony smirked back. Natasha could see the thread of uncertainty there as though he didn't believe that Clint was going to leave it at that. For Tony, nothing was ever that simple. However, Clint just slipped down into his seat, smirking brightly at her.

'Can I take this one home with me, Tasha?' he asked, jerking his head at Tony, who actually seemed nonplussed at the comment. 'He's fun to play with.'

'Just don't kidnap him in front of the authorities,' she intoned wisely.

'Hey!' Fury's distinctive tone cut in while his one eye sharply swept across them all. 'Do you think we could actually start the meeting? You can all fight and whine after.'

Steve nodded a bit too eagerly while Tony's mouth popped open, most likely to make some smart comment in hopes of getting a rise out of Fury this time.

However, Bruce, against all laws of nature that Natasha knew, actually initiated contact and subtly nudged Tony with his shoulder. Then, Natasha witnessed the strangest thing she had the entire time she had entered.

Tony _listened_. His mouth shut and even though his scowl was prominent, leaned back in his chair, glaring mutinously at Fury though it should have been technically directed at Bruce. He hadn't been cajoled, persuaded by numerous enticing offers and well, everyone knew how well it went for people who threatened the man who created Iron Man to do what they wanted. Natasha personally knew there was a file there somewhere on every person dumb enough to actually threaten Tony Stark.

However, here he was, listening to the unassuming man next to him without even a glare sent Bruce's way.

Despite everything, Natasha couldn't help but be slightly entranced by Bruce. He was one of the first people she had never been able to read, and the others she hadn't been able to was when she had been a young girl in the Red Room.

She had tried to brush it off. She had been distracted by Loki brainwashing Clint. Of course she had. She had been a little overwhelmed to be confronting the man that contained such a force that was not able to be taken down. Who wouldn't?

However, as she looked at the man with honeyed brown eyes, wild curls that couldn't be tamed, hands clasped over his stomach as he watched Fury peacefully, she was overwhelmed with the feeling to just … she didn't even know. The feelings were just so foreign. She couldn't even adequately describe them to herself.

Brilliant. Now she couldn't even read herself. She felt like blaming Bruce for that, but that was more than slightly petulant.

Mentally shaking herself, she tuned into Fury. It wasn't as easy as it usually was. Tony and Bruce's interactions were more than distracting. Each time Tony spoke up, Bruce would watch him with something akin to adoration. And not the blank adoring stares she saw from the numerous ditzy blondes, wannabe geniuses and sleazy businessmen that followed him around at galas. No, this was completely different, coming from a deep admiration and not a shallow infatuation.

She recognised their relationship had obviously developed leaps and bounds, but couldn't put a word on it. It was more than frustrating.

'All I'm saying is, if you don't want to be hacked, up your security,' Tony was saying while nonchalantly brushing dirt off his Armani jacket that wasn't even there.

It was amazing the feelings Fury could convey without so much as changing a muscle in his face. The aura coming off him was very clear though. Tony must be on top form today if he was actually starting to make Fury break.

'We have the best in the business, Stark,' he said in what appeared to be a calm tone.

Tony simply did that thing where he gave a look that clearly conveyed he thought whoever he was looking at was an idiot. Then he went back to dusting his jacket.

Fury hardly bit back a sigh and started to sip his hot coffee rather quickly.

'Wait,' Steve said slowly, the way he did when he wanted to make doubly sure he knew what he was saying made sense in this modern world, 'don't you work for SHIELD as a consultant, Tony? Why can't you help them on their,' here he paused, glancing at Clint,' software?' At Clint's affirmative nod, he reiterated confidently, 'Software.'

Tony turned his 'You're an idiot' expression onto Steve, but Natasha noted that it didn't have as much force as it did when directed at Fury. 'I was a consultant on the Avengers project. That didn't include doing work on the shields,' here, he couldn't resist sending a grin over at Bruce, who returned it with a pained grimace that somehow looked amused at the tortured pun, 'that protect all the secrets on the Jolly Roger.'

Clint laughed outright again, purposefully ignoring the warning glance from Fury.

'Rogers does not look jolly,' Thor said with a tilt of his head, pointing at Steve.

There was a brief pause before both Tony and Clint broke down, Clint even thumping the table. Bruce was silently chuckling, eyes closed again, head down, like he didn't want anyone to see he was laughing. Natasha couldn't help but smile as well as Fury actually closed his one eye for a brief moment, like he was praying for patience. She was getting to like this group.

Even Steve was now smiling, albeit unsurely. 'I think he was referring to something else, Thor,' he said gently. He glanced at Clint again.

Clint nodded vigorously, unable to speak because he was gasping so hard, grey eyes bright in a way they hadn't been since the Chitauri.

Natasha decided she was really getting to like this group if they could bring that out in Clint so quickly.

Tony was grinning madly then glanced over at Bruce. For some reason, it wavered.

Fury started to talk amongst the dissipating chuckles, slowly and deliberating, 'Do you think you could expand your duties for three months to help us upgrade the Helicarrier's software?'

He began to sip his coffee again like it was his elixir for dealing with Stark.

Tony's grin suddenly took on a slightly vindictive glow. 'Me and Brucie could,' he said. With that, he slapped a hand down so hard on the other man's shoulder that it made him give a startled, 'Ooph.'

Fury actually snorted the coffee.

Thor looked disturbingly excited like he couldn't wait to battle the Hulk again. Natasha crouched low, ready to spring back and let fly. Clint was pretty much identical.

Steve looked frozen, but his blue eyes were calculating until a realisation dawned on his youthful face.

'What the hell, Stark!' Fury growled, hand firmly on his gun.

Natasha saw all this while still watching Bruce. He looked mildly surprised to see all their stances. His body slumped deep into his chair, as non-threatening as possible. His eyes, strongly brown, briefly caught hers. For once, she was able to read his emotion.

Hurt.

Tony's smile turned downright vicious. 'What?' He tried for innocence, but the bite in that one word was practically venomous.

Fury didn't say a word, but simply glowered at the much smaller man.

Tony didn't back down. The man never did. It was something that got him into so many dangerous positions, but it was also the way he survived them too. 'Would you care to elaborate your problem, Nick?'

Fury's eye flicked to Bruce. The physicist was almost curled into his chair, hands now fiddling together. Now, Natasha recognised him well. That thought made something in her chest constrict.

Tony followed Fury's gaze. His expression became murderous.

He jumped to his feet and looked ready to storm right up to the master spy. Natasha's eyes couldn't help but widen. That was either extremely brave or entirely insane. Tony appeared to be the expert of walking that line.

However, before he could, a gentle hand grabbed his sleeve and tugged insistently on it. Tony didn't tear away from the touch, as everyone surely expected him to, but instead, paused in his path. His stormy eyes wouldn't leave Fury's.

The tugging took on a more urgent pull.

It was visible when Tony decided to heed. A sigh filled his entire body and escaped in a large whoosh. His eyelids closed briefly then opened.

Chestnut brown met honeyed brown, one suddenly gentle while the other was extremely worried, with still no hint of green. They stayed like that for a moment.

Tony sighed again, large and exhausted. Running a hand through his untamed black hair, making it slightly crazier, a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth, small, but genuine.

'All right, bud.'

If Natasha hadn't seen his lips move, she would have sworn that wasn't Tony's voice. It was unlike she had ever heard him speak before. So soft, gentle and … un-Tony.

Without another word, he grabbed Bruce's arm as he uncurled and slunk off the chair. Tony slung an arm around the shorter man's shoulders, tossed a poisonous look over his shoulder at Fury then marched out better than any diva could because he somehow made it look classy rather than throwing a tantrum. Bruce just remained tucked under his arm, head bowed.

It was that which made Natasha relax back. Not because she felt threatened, but because how could one threaten someone that looked so scared and helpless? She knew Bruce was anything but the last word. Seeing him tucked against Tony like that though … she had no choice but to see him as something that needed to be protected.

She felt a jolt of … actual guilt … when she realised she was a part of what made him curl in on himself like that.

What the hell was Bruce's presence doing to her?

Before she could think further, Steve was up and out of his seat, following the two men out of the room without even a word.

Everyone sat in silence, unsure how to pick up after all that.

Finally, it was Clint who turned to her, grey eyes blinking widely. 'Damn. I did not see that one coming.'

Whether he was referring to the way Tony and Bruce reacted to each other, Bruce not 'Hulking out', Tony looking like he was about to eviscerate Fury, Tony all of a sudden taking on a persona unlike anyone had ever seen on him before or Steve following them out or … or … any other crazy thing here today, Natasha had no idea.

Whichever one it was though, she agreed with them all and nodded, suddenly not feeling like talking.

At the head of the table, Fury was leaning his knuckles on the surface, breathing heavily. It wasn't from anger, for that Natasha was sure. More exhaustion.

Thor sat up in his chair, smiling around at all of them, obviously trying to put them at ease. 'I did not know that pie had numbers within it,' he said conversationally. 'How is that so?'

Clint's smirk returned. 'Please ask Stark that next time you see him.'

Natasha glanced at the door. One thing was for sure. Neither he nor Bruce were coming back in this room today.

She had no idea why she found that idea disappointing.

This was Natasha's first time noticing Tony and Bruce's different interactions with each other without being able to name what exactly it was.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for all the lovely comments, faves and follows on Chapter 1 of my story!

This is so much more Natasha-centric than I ever planned! This second chapter is fairly slow, more setting up for the team interactions to come and just giving the reader an idea of what is going on in Natasha's head.

Also, I wrote more of Clint! He is one character I have never gotten to know so I did a lot of reading up on him. I found one tid-bit really interesting where it says Clint is a great judge of character and very forgiving. He takes Natasha in rather than killing her, despite her reputation as the Black Widow, and also, much later on, forgives Wanda for what she did and gives her the killer pep-talk she needed. So, I've incorporated that part of Clint's personality into this, showing how he can tell if a person is good or bad.

Hope you enjoy and please leave any comments to say what you think, what you might like to see in coming chapters (I can't make any promises, but I'm always interested to hear!) and/or any advice you have!

Thanks everyone!

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'What's on your mind, Tash?'

Natasha glared at Clint's smirking profile. His eyes were on the passing buildings of New York, but she knew how he could divide his attention equally without even trying. She considered lying to him, but that was pointless. After all these years, Clint knew her too well. Most people thought she sat in apathetic silence because she was just a trained assassin with a one track mind that only thought of her next mission.

Clint didn't though. He knew how she liked horror movies because for some reason, she laughed at everything that happened, finding it so unrealistic that a killer could catch up to someone no matter how slow they walked. He knew she liked to swim in a river, but didn't like the ocean because she felt like there were just too many elements she couldn't control or hated pools because that was where she had executed a businessman just because the Red Room had commanded it. He knew that when she was quiet with her lips pursed the slightest bit that she was in deep thought.

She glanced to the small barrier that blocked Happy Hogan from hearing her and Clint's conversation. The spy inside her said there could be bugs anywhere, particularly knowing this vehicle belonged to Tony Stark, but the other part of her, the more human part that had been brought out by all the interactions with Clint and his family, asked why would Tony do that?

Then she flashed back to Natalie Rushman.

'Tash, I can practically promise you there are no bugs in this limousine,' Clint said, not bothering to turn away from the window as Natasha began running her lithe fingers over the rubbers around the doors, pulling them out and deftly feeling inside to see if any bump made itself known.

'How?' she asked, tracing along every inch of the material covering the roof.

He just shrugged. 'Stark's solid.'

That actually made Natasha pause in trying to pull up the plush carpet on the floor.

'What makes you say that?' she asked, genuinely curious as she leaned back on her haunches.

This time, Clint turned away from the window and gave her his full attention, grey eyes intense with contemplation.

'I guess,' he said softly, the closest he ever got to shyness, 'the same way I knew you were.'

Natasha's smile was instant and fond. 'Feeling particularly nostalgic today, Clinton?'

He didn't react to her teasing and instead, cocked his head as though trying to read what was going through her mind. 'What were you thinking about, Nat?'

She glanced quickly again to the front. Happy appeared to be talking to someone on the phone as his mouth opened and closed intermittently.

Slipping back into her seat, she centred herself by concentrating on Clint's eyes. She had always found them grounding and reassuring, just like the way they were when she had first met him, even when staring at him with his bow drawn, arrow aimed directly at her neck. She knew he was going to lower it before he actually did.

'Do you find this,' she gestured around herself, movements small and controlled because it was so ingrained in her, 'all a bit strange?'

'What? Riding in Stark's limousine?' Quick as lightning, he leaned into the mini-bar fridge, extracting a Fredo Frog and small jar of caviar. 'I mean, his food choices are questionable, but what did you really expect of a guy that carries around dehydrated,' here, he shivered exaggeratedly, 'blueberries?'

She rolled her eyes at him. 'No, I mean these team bonding exercises? It's like telling someone, "Okay, bond. Now."'

'I think that's the purpose behind exercise _s_ ,' Clint said, emphasising the plural of the word. 'Besides, we bonded pretty damn well over, you know, saving the whole world thing from aliens.' Here, he waved his hand flippantly. 'So, we already know these people pretty good. It should go well.' He shrugged again, going for nonchalance, but Natasha could see he was actually excited on some level to be with these group of ... _unique_ people again. 'It might even be fun.'

'Then, why even do it in the first place if we're "bonded".' She even used air quotes and everything, but for some reason, she felt extremely put-out by having to participate in this exercise.

It had been three days since the disaster of the team meeting. On the second day, Tony had called her up, babbling so much it actually took her a solid ten seconds to realise he'd thrown a question in there. Since the meeting incident, as she was calling it in her head, she had been extremely off her game, mind wandering off to contemplate on things she hadn't given it permission to.

'Come again?' she had deadpanned.

There was an indeterminable grumble followed by a distinctly female voice in the background before Tony finally groused, 'I _said_ , you, me, Legolas, Capsicle, Green Jelly Bean and Point Break, tomorrow night, a,' here, he seemed to actually choke on the next two words, 'team … bonding,' a painful cough, 'night.' More talking in the background before he begrudgingly offered, 'I'll even send Happy to pick you up from whatever paddock SHIELD dumps you into.'

If Natasha hadn't been so caught off-guard by Tony's offer, she would have had a dig at how Pepper was obviously the one in charge and didn't he feel just a little bit unmanly?

'You want us at your tower,' she had said blankly, unwillingly putting a slight question into the words.

The sigh on the other end was so exaggerated that it sounded painful. 'Don't make me say it again, Red,' he said, sounding as close to begging as Tony Stark could get, which wasn't really anything at all.

'To … bond …' she said slowly, running the words over and over through her head.

Nope. No matter which way she thought of it, she still thought it was an aneurism on Tony's part.

'I'm not braiding your hair,' Tony said on the other end, sounding like he was finally drawing the line somewhere. There was a brief pause then, 'Well, if it was _Thor's_ hair …'

Despite herself, she had to give a little grin at the thought of the demigod sitting placidly in front of a plush couch as Tony sat cross-legged behind him, doing his hair with ribbons and hair-ties while Bruce gave directions beside him.

The last person in the vision made something in her clench a little.

'Will Bruce be there?'

'Who the hell do you think Green Jelly Bean is? Hill?'

Natasha snorted at that.

Before she could interrogate Tony for the next twenty minutes about what the protocols for the night would be, if there would be any emergency plans in place in case of the Hulk and why the hell did Pepper force him to ask for this in the first place, was he the dumbest genius ever, Clint snatched the cell phone out of her hand from where he had paused in the middle of their sparring match.

'We'll be there,' he said pleasantly.

Natasha had wasted no time in winding him with an open palm to his ribs.

Clint's chuckle brought her back to present day. 'Wow, whatever's on your mind is eating at you big time.'

Natasha told him pleasantly to go to hell in Russian before settling back in the seats so cushioned that it was bordering on stifling.

She tried to enjoy the oncoming shadows dancing across the faces of unknown people but she kept flashing back to one set of eyes speaking of such haunted sadness.

It wasn't from the other day. It was from those months ago, in that little shack, when he had absently rocked the cradle. He hadn't been looking at her, but there was something in the simple movement and glimmer in his downcast gaze which made her want to just curl up a little bit.

Then, it was there again when he had looked at her in mid-transformation. That ultimate pain and almost begging for her to win. To destroy him because he didn't want to be 'victorious'.

That was something that she couldn't understand. To not want to succeed wasn't in her. She would win. She would always win. And even if there was a remote chance she wouldn't, she would fight for it with her dying breath.

Bruce wouldn't.

That realisation sent a sick jolt through her and she clamped down on her gag reflex, an ability she had gained as a child when she had been confronted with the blood of her first assassination. The Red Room would have seen that as weakness. Back then, she fought. The thought that someone wouldn't …

She closed her eyes briefly, wondering why that concerned her so much about someone she hardly knew.

 _'I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show.'_

 _'I swear, on my life, I will get you out of this, you will walk away.'_

She hadn't succeeded. He had plummeted to Earth, alive with no thanks to her.

It wasn't exactly red in the ledger, but it was words she had actually said at the time without lying. Of course she had been trying to manipulate him into calming down, but what struck her now, at this very moment, was that she had meant it. And she hadn't fulfilled a promise she had actually meant. That didn't sit right with her. She always did what she set out to do.

She couldn't go back and change anything, but maybe she could change his fear now. And make him … fight. And here she thought that Stark was the one with no self-preservation. The problem with Bruce was that if he thought that his winning would hurt someone else, he would happily roll over and die. A little too happily as far as she was concerned.

She didn't know what it was about the enigma of Bruce Banner that kept drawing her in, but she actually started to find herself interested in the coming night just to see what new piece she could add to the jigsaw that he created.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi y'all!

I can't believe how fast this is being updated. This update is exceptionally long so I hope you all like it.

Thanks everyone for the continuing comments, faves and follows. Any and all are greatly appreciated. They spur me on and I would love to hear what everyone thinks. I really loved writing this so let me know if you enjoyed it :D. I update quicker if I know people are enjoying and commenting.

I found it really interesting writing all the different aspects of Bruce's personality. He is a hard one to write. In the movie, he has a lot of different modes because with people he doesn't really care about, he isn't as reserved with a bit of sarcasm thrown in all though it is obvious he is still often scared. However, with Tony, in a lot of ways, he is shyer again because he actually seems to care what Tony thinks of him. So that is why I wrote him as a bit more nervous around the rest of the Avengers now because he is starting to care about what they think of him and that makes him nervous because he doesn't have much self-worth.

My analysis of his psyche anyway!

Anyway, so much fluff and Science Bros interactions in this one so please tell me if you like it!

As always, cheers, guys!

PS, if you have never played Taboo before, you should! It is so much fun! Tony and Bruce's game is based of the way my brother and I work together so I thought it was fitting :).

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Stark Tower didn't have as many holes in it then the last time Natasha had seen it. She supposed that was nicer. All though she always felt destruction had a sort of artistic, poetic feel to it.

Not many people agreed with her there. Only Cooper, who had tried to make a similar argument with his mother as to why it looked nicer when he _didn't_ clean his room. Natasha felt for him. She really did.

As they entered the private elevator, the bio-print actually accepting Clint and Natasha's palm scans, JARVIS' pleasant accented voice sent Natasha's mind back to the Chitauri invasion.

It was eerie to be back here again. After shawarma, Tony had invited them all back to the Tower, saying there would be some rooms not destroyed, so, 'feel free to trash 'em. I never liked décor not matching'.

They'd all taken him up on the offer after securing Loki with SHIELD. For some reason, Natasha hadn't wanted to go back and one look at Clint told her he felt the same.

It was that night, curled up on a couch underneath an Iron Man blanket (Really, Tony? _Really_?), but still wide awake, she had watched all the other … Avengers.

Despite Tony making it clear they could bunk practically anywhere, they didn't leave each other and all settled in a casual conference room that more looked like a semi-formal lounge room, except for the large conference table smack damn in the middle.

Clint was lying on the soft grey carpet, parallel to the couch, a cushion underneath his head, blanket tossed haphazardly across his legs. She knew it was his way of wanting to be protective of her and she couldn't begrudge him for that because she found she enjoyed his closeness for the same reason that she felt he could protect him.

Thor was actually strewn across the conference table, using his cape as a blanket, armour hardly bothering him. Steve was sideways in an lounge chair, long legs hanging over the arm rest, limbs wrapped around his chest like he was cold despite the thick quilt curling around his body like a cocoon, head twisted awkwardly to the side.

Tony was in a conference chair, legs propped up on the table next to Thor's head. Curled up in his lap was Pepper, who had greeted them after they had returned from shawarma. Despite New York City meant to be closed to any civilians, Pepper had somehow found her way in, but having spent the little amount of time with her that Natasha did, the assassin wasn't surprised in the slightest. The woman was formidable, which was a huge complement coming from the Black Widow.

Pepper had hardly let go of Tony once they were reunited and Tony practically melted at the sight of her, the cockiness and self-assuredness fading away to someone that just wanted to be held. His girlfriend happily complied, only leaving him once to wrap her arms around Bruce, who looked more scared at that moment than he had when an alien whale was coming straight at him.

As Pepper's soft murmurs in Tony's ear broke the silence that would border on eerie without it, Bruce had taken a conference chair and removed it to the corner of the room furthest from everyone else. Natasha had wondered why he didn't leave and sleep in another room if he found it so awkward around all these people. It put her even more on edge at the thought that Dr. Banner obviously wasn't comfortable, which could lead to him being not all together very happy.

Shifting at the table caught her attention and she watched as Tony easily lifted Pepper and placed her in another conference chair. Her hand lingered on his cheek and he turned his face to gently kiss her fingers.

Everyone's heads subtly turned to watch the self-proclaimed billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist cross the room, pulling the conference chair he'd been sitting in over to Bruce.

Natasha could make out how Bruce tensed as Tony brought the chair right next to him and plopped down in it.

'Do you buy into the theory that arc reactor technology is greener than hydro-electricity?' At Bruce's exhausted blank, but wary stare, he clapped his hands together. 'Thatta a boy, I knew you would. Of course it is! Arc reactor technology is unique in that it creates its own energy through its own element unlike all the other greener options which always use an element found in nature. Also, you know, it's designed by me so …' here, Tony snorted, giving a 'What can you do gesture?' as though he couldn't deny the truth of his brilliance before he pushed on, movements sluggish as he clicked, snapped and clapped his hands while he spoke.

Bruce continued to stare like he couldn't figure out how or why this eccentric man was invading the space he had so blatantly put between him and his team. Natasha couldn't quite figure it out either. Tony had left Pepper. _Pepper_.

With a glance back at the strawberry redhead, she could see through the darkness to make out Pepper's fond smile as she watched Tony talk about some cat called Schrödinger. How the hell he got on to that subject Natasha really didn't care to know

As she watched, she saw each of her teammates' heads tilt down until even breathing began to fill the room. She found herself relaxing more and more as Tony's voice continued to bounce along.

That's when it hit her. She had trusted them all today with her life. And with that sort of trust came something else that hadn't come for her with Clint until she had trusted him on their first mission to watch her back.

She was caring. She had _cared_ whether Tony fell back through that portal. It would have affected her if he didn't.

That's why no one wanted to leave the team, filled with the crazy feeling to protect these people they had … bonded with.

That actually _scared_ Natasha. She didn't care deep about people like that outside of Clint and his family. Sure, she didn't want civilian after civilian to die, but she didn't have that attachment she was so quickly forming with this group of misfits.

How the hell it was happening was slightly beyond her.

The last thing she remembered seeing that night was Bruce slumping down in his sleep, chin dipping low until his body was completely loose. Tony's talking petered off after that but it had been enough to reassure her that the narcissistic idiot was still alive and thriving despite everything. It made her sleep so much easier.

' _Welcome to the communal living room_ ,' JARVIS announced and the elevator doors eased open.

Natasha and Clint stepped onto a solid wooden floor then turned a left corner to see the living room opening out in front of them.

It was massive. A huge lounge suite, in a soft grey colour, that could easily fit up to five people formed an L around a gargantuan flat-screen television complete with a gentle apricot rug thrown in the centre with a glass coffee table. There were several lounge chairs strewn about so everyone didn't have to sit on the suite. To the right of the screen, a person could turn right where it probably led to bathrooms.

To the right and up three steps was a large kitchen island, five stools on either side of it. Kitchen cabinets lined the top and bottom half of this side of the room with about every kitchen appliance one would ever need or not need embedded within them. A bar was to the right of the kitchen area, complete with shelves with about every brand of alcohol ever invented. A door led to an unknown location near where the bar ended.

At the far end of the area, floor-to-ceiling windows lined the whole length of the room. The destruction of New York was still visible in certain areas, skyscrapers with huge dents and shattered glass, sun illuminating the jagged edges cutting through the air. Heavy construction was strewn intermittently throughout the iconic city. In the dying sunlight, it looked beautiful, bleeding red and ethereal purple glimmering through the still broken buildings. It had a haunted element to it that was somehow touching as well as melancholy.

At the kitchen island, putting about five different types of chips into glass bowls was Pepper. She glanced up as Clint and Natasha rounded the corner.

'Hello,' she greeted pleasantly, smile cordial with still a hint of professionalism. She was in a black business jacket and skirt with a silk purple blouse. Her heels were abandoned next to the bar. A glass of what looked like alcohol was to her left, but Natasha's sensitive nose could pick up the tart scent of apple juice.

'Hey, Pepper,' Clint grinned as Natasha returned a hello. He came up and put his hand out to her.

Despite most of the Avengers having hardly spent any time with Pepper, it was an unspoken agreement that they liked her. There was a solidness to her that made one feel like she could take care of any situation without breaking a sweat and still smiling warmly.

Pepper grasped his hand firmly, her smile growing a tad less professional. 'Clint,' she greeted again before giving a critical sweep of the two of them. 'Forgive me for saying, but you both look a bit better than the last time I saw you.'

Natasha smiled as Clint barked a laugh. 'I certainly hope so,' he said, 'I'm not covered in alien parts or plaster dust so, you know.'

Pepper chuckled but before she could say anything, the elevator dinged and in a few seconds, Steve Rogers rounded the corner.

He was in pressed slacks and a long-sleeved blue shirt, ironed to perfection.

'Hello everyone,' he greeted, a slight discolouration on his cheeks as three sets of eyes moved to him.

'Steve,' Pepper said pleasantly, holding out her hand to him, which he took, shaking it gingerly, looking like he wasn't sure whether to be kissing it or not.

As all greetings were given, Pepper began handing out the bowls of chips. 'Please help yourselves,' she said. 'Tony and Bruce should be up any moment.'

'So Bruce is still staying here?' Natasha couldn't help but confirm as she took a bowl from the other woman.

Pepper's smile became extremely fond. 'Well, I don't think he has much choice in the matter. I think Tony would tear the world apart looking for him if he left.'

'Yeah, we kind of noticed that they,' here, Clint shrugged, 'got on kind of well.'

Pepper snorted, causing Natasha to crack a grin. 'Understatement of the year,' she said, but there was no heat behind her words as she settled on the suite while the rest found seats.

Amicable chatting continued that Natasha partook in, but her brain was elsewhere as she glanced at Steve, wondering what had gone on between him and the two scientists the other day.

'Thor coming?' Clint asked, breaking into her thoughts.

'Goldilocks is kind of hard to get a hold of,' Tony's voice interrupted them all.

Natasha knew he and Bruce had been coming before he talked, hearing the footsteps from behind the door before it even opened.

Now, Tony swept in, a cup of coffee in his hand, insouciant smile adorning his face as he took in the people on his couch. Bruce was staying near the bar, hands in his pockets, face hidden by the shadows from the shelves.

'So he's not coming?' Clint said, not at all surprised to see Tony as he had heard them coming too.

Tony's grin turned exceptionally smug. 'I didn't say that,' he almost sing-songed.

Steve suddenly looked tired, though it was an amused sort of strain.

Clint didn't look greatly pleased, particularly when Natasha sent him a teasing smirk. Stark could be a horror to try to get a straight answer out of and beyond frustrating. Watching it being done to someone else was entertaining though.

'I'm sure a genius like you could work out how to communicate through realms,' Natasha drawled.

'Do you really have to encourage him?' Clint asked with a raised eyebrow.

Steve looked like he wanted to nod in agreement. Natasha saw the moment a flicker of mischievous went through his blue eyes, but he still kept his mouth shut.

So Steve had a teasing side, but just wasn't showing it yet. Natasha found she was looking forward to seeing a bit of a different side to the sometimes one-track-minded soldier.

'Makes no difference,' Tony said. 'I can't turn,' he pointed to his mind with his coffee cup, 'this off. Too brilliant. Too busy.'

'I can think of times when _that_ ,' Pepper jabbed a finger at his head, 'wasn't working.'

That caused a ripple of laughter from all of them, Tony excluded, who just pouted.

'Good help is so hard to buy these days,' he huffed.

'So are truthful opinions,' Pepper said cheerily.

'Damn.' Clint grinned at Tony. 'She's good.'

'Go try to fly off one of your perches, Tweety Bird,' Tony said with no rancour whatsoever.

Clint rolled his eyes. 'Do you even know my name?'

Tony didn't respond as his eyes squinted, eyebrows furrowing deep. Then, before Clint could jump in with a triumphant, 'I knew it', Tony suddenly looked to both his sides then lifted his arms and checking again as though he was searching for something he lost underneath them. As his eyes landed on the figure in the shadows, it became apparent exactly what he lost or more precisely, who.

'Brucie!' he exclaimed, moving at a fast clip back from where he had come from. 'You can't appreciate my witty banter with Merida from way over there. Do you feel like coffee? I feel like coffee.'

Bruce's reply was muffled as Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders, practically dragging him to the kitchen. As light landed on his features, Natasha felt something funny in her stomach as she realised he was dressed in an over-large sweater, comfortable slacks that were extremely baggy and glasses perched on his sloping nose. He looked so … homey, but had the typical Banner fashion of always looking a bit rumpled. The clothes were obviously old, which was very much him, unlike how he looked the other day.

Also unlike the other day, he looked beyond nervous, eyes darting everywhere except to the faces of his teammates and his hands were out of his pockets, thumbs running over his knuckles. Despite obviously not wanting to move from where he had been, once pulled out in the open, he made no attempt to move from the engineer's side.

'Nonsense!' Tony exclaimed to whatever he said.

He dumped his cup in the sink, started the coffee maker and slid two new mugs underneath it all with one hand because he refused to remove his arm from Bruce. It was like he was afraid Bruce might make a run for it. With the way Bruce eyed the door longingly, he was probably right.

'Dr. Banner,' Steve said pleasantly, standing to move over towards the two scientists.

Bruce eyed the hand offered to him just like last time before taking it in his own. 'Captain,' he said.

Natasha blinked. It hit her that she hadn't actually heard him talk the other day. Thinking about it, he didn't really interact with anyone besides Tony. Had they really all looked him over?

Tony and Clint had gone at it so quick that she didn't even smile in greeting at him.

Taking a fortifying breath, she stood up and crossed the room as Steve took a step back to admire the kitchen.

'Hi, Doc,' she said softly.

Bruce turned his honeyed eyes on to her, blinking slowly from behind his spectacles.

'Agent Romanov,' he replied with what she realised was caution. She couldn't really blame him. The last time they saw each other, she had been ready to launch herself at him with deadly accuracy.

She smiled disarmingly like she knew how to do when calming down a contact on a mission. However, she didn't like it that she felt like she was treating him more like a target that she was manipulating rather than a teammate. How was she meant to do anything else though?

He smiled back, the wariness still as prominent, but at least he'd smiled. That was something right?

'I would get up,' Clint called from the couch, 'but I'm too comfortable.'

This brought a bit more of a genuine grin to Bruce as he gave Clint a small wave.

'Dinner has been ordered and will be here in about half an hour,' Pepper said, getting up and straightening her skirt. She sent a smile around the room. 'It was nice seeing you all again, but I have to head off. I have a flight to Malibu.'

Tony was by her side in a second, Bruce still in tow. The poor man blinked around in bewilderment as though he couldn't figure out how one moment, he had been standing in the kitchen then the next minute he was in the lounge area.

The engineer finally let him go to wrap his girlfriend in his arms. 'Call,' he said simply and everyone could see how he forced himself to disentangle from her.

Pepper clasped his cheek, like she had those months ago and Natasha found she had to hold back a quirk of her lips. She quickly looked away as she realised of all people, Bruce's eyes were on her.

That didn't last long though as Pepper turned her attention to Bruce. He looked beyond uncomfortable, chewing his bottom lip viciously, while his eyes took on a type of scared fondness and he tried to smile, but it came out as more of a sad grimace.

Natasha didn't know so many conflicting emotions could be on someone's face at once. No wonder he was nearly damn impossible to read. What was a person meant to respond to? It made his emotions so much harder to predict, which was something Natasha was not used to.

It didn't phase Pepper though. She just simply held out her arms to the physicist. He didn't attempt to move closer, but he eased up on his lip while a petrified smile flickered across his face.

Pepper's smile filled with warmth everyone thought was only reserved for Tony and she grabbed his shirtsleeves at the arm, easily tugging her to him.

He didn't resist her. His hands fluttered around, afraid to touch her, but never did they push her away.

A piece fitted into Natasha's jigsaw puzzle of why Bruce didn't sleep somewhere else that night after shawarma. A sadness clenched in her stomach, making a heavy, hopeless feeling settle over her body. It would have been so hard to get up because the sensation was pushing down on her harder than gravity.

Pepper pulled back and gave his arms a bracing, friendly shake then quirked her head to Tony, who had been watching the exchange with that same softness present on the Helicarrier.

'Think you can take care of him by yourself for a few days?' she asked, her pretty blue eyes sparkling.

Bruce snorted then looked shocked that it happened while Tony slapped a hand on his chest.

'Mwah?' He said, attempting an innocent expression that could never fit with his eyes that were forever alive with mischievous and secret plans which made him vibrate with an energy and such pure life force that could never be dimmed. It made the heaviness blanketing Natasha lift. Sometimes, one couldn't help but feel lighter around Tony.

It was Steve that laughed outright at that.

'You,' Tony snapped his fingers at him then succinctly said, 'Shut it.'

Steve peeked up at him, amused smile quirking at his lips, eyes bright, the one he had given when Tony woke up after falling.

Pepper rolled her eyes, but stayed watching Bruce.

Realising she wanted a response, he nodded, ducking his head, but his voice came out surprisingly strong. 'Can do.'

Pepper's smile widened and she briefly squeezed his arms, causing a surprised expression to flash across Bruce's countenance underneath his furious blush.

Turning, she called goodbyes to everyone else, which was returned, and she began making her way to the elevator, picking up her heels on the way. Tony followed her, stride not near as care-free as usual.

Natasha noted, with a kind of apprehensive interest that as soon as the engineer disappeared around the corner, Bruce tensed even more than he was before, shoulders hunching around his neck and his lip was back to being tortured again.

Steve saw it too.

'So, Dr. Banner, how have you been settling in here?'

Bruce gave one of his grimaces that somehow looked like he was smiling at the same time. 'Settling is a strong word.'

'I heard that!' Tony shouted from around the corner.

Bruce's reaction to the genius's voice was instantaneous. His shoulders slumped with pure relief and his face went slack as he took in a deep breath, as though breathing in a healing incense. A peaceful sensation just fell over him and with the tenseness whooshing from his body, it looked like he was about to melt into the floor.

If Natasha wasn't an expert in schooling her expression, she would have grinned in amused confusion. What was with these two? A pleasant sensation prickled at the back of neck upon seeing the physicist actually relaxed.

Her body sunk back into the seat, adrenaline easing back and didn't return to the usual tenseness that it was always at whenever near Dr. Banner. Standing there, looking a little like a toddler with his over-sized clothes that had just been calmed, her unique green eyes warmed at the sight.

Clint swiped a finger across the side of his nose like a secret signal. 'Blink twice if you are being held here against your will,' he stage-whispered.

Bruce silently chuckled at that, shoulders shaking.

The archer looked as surprised as Natasha felt, but a happiness settled in his grey eyes as he studied the doctor like he did with Tony the other day.

Said genius emerged from around the corner, looking decidedly satisfied. The goodbye had obviously been what he wanted or as Natasha more suspected, needed.

He wasted no time in reattaching himself to Bruce, jostling the physicist with the arm wrapped around the shorter man.

'And Pepper thinks I'm the one that needs to be kept an eye on.' He waggled an accusing finger at Bruce like he was scolding him while Bruce had his chin dipped, raising his eyes to Tony with affection evident in the honeyed colours. 'You play innocent in front of her, but I'm on to you, bud.'

Natasha didn't feel like suppressing the amused smile at Tony's antics as well as Bruce's bashful reaction, head ducking, looking equally parts mortified and entertained by Tony. He embodied the term of dork.

Tony's eyes crinkled, giving him that soft edge that the group had glimpsed on the Helicarrier.

'Now, where were we? Coffee! I need coffee, Bruce. Don't tell me you don't because I know you do. And blueberries! With cheese, crackers … ah hell, let's just raid the cupboards. JARVIS! Order me one of everything in the snack section at the local supermarket. I feel like being surprised next time I raid the kitchen. Actually, make it six of everything. If I find something I like, I don't want to have to wait for more to arrive. You know how I don't like to wait.'

Tony's hands talked as much as he did, swinging and gesturing everywhere, causing poor Bruce to stumble now and then as he was pulled alongside his fellow scientist. But not once did he complain though. In fact, he looked oddly pleased and happy.

'I thought you didn't like to be handed things?' he said as JARVIS gave an affirmative.

'I don't like waiting _or_ being handed things,' Tony said with a roll of his eyes. 'Keep up, Brucie, otherwise you're going to miss out on some of my charming idiosyncrasies.'

'Of course, Tony,' Bruce soothed, eyes sparkling as he looked up at the engineer.

Next to her, Clint coughed and tapped his chin. 'Six,' he called across the room to where Tony was traversing with Bruce to the kitchen in a haphazard line. 'A very particular number there, Stark.'

The look Tony threw over his shoulder was absolutely filthy. He didn't dignify Clint's sentence with a comment as he dragged Bruce to the coffee, launching into a theory he was working on that might be able to reduced fuel consumption by 20%, but he wanted Bruce's help with the chemical make-up of what he was proposing.

Bruce nodded along, fixing the coffee, miraculously not spilling anything as Tony would throw out a hand as he talked about what he obviously thought was a particularly exciting part of the theory.

'Six?' Steve repeated softly, blonde eyebrows furrowing, making his forehead crinkle slightly. They rose as realisation crossed his face and he glanced over at the never-silent genius with a surprisingly warm smile. 'Well, I'll be.'

'Careful,' Natasha said with a grin of her own. 'He might burn the world down if you point out he has feelings.'

Steve chuckled, deep and cheerful. 'I'll keep that in mind.'

The conversation was interrupted by a massive clap of thunder, causing the dim lights to flicker.

Steve, Clint and Natasha jumped to their feet, Clint and Natasha already reaching for their weapons while Steve simply repositioned himself into a fighting stance.

Tony treated them to a bored expression while his arm almost unnoticeably tightened around a wide-eyed Bruce. 'You're a paranoid bunch,' he mused, more to himself than to anyone then suddenly grinned. 'Could you imagine if we played _Survivor_ together? It would be like paranoia on steroids!'

Steve looked perplexed while Clint sighed and Natasha growled. There was obviously no danger with how Tony was acting, but that didn't make his nonchalance any less irritating.

'Are you sure there is no danger, Stark?' she confirmed, all though she was already forming a theory to who caused the disturbance.

Tony raised his eyebrows condescendingly at her. 'If there was, JARVIS would have let me know.'

Her hands shook minutely at what could turn out to be very fatal system. 'Don't ever,' she hissed, 'just depend on that. Confirm with him. Do a perimeter search. Something!'

He cocked his head at her, more curious than condescending now. 'You do realise it's just Thor right?'

'I'm talking about future incidents, Stark!' she snapped. 'If you don't take the proper precautions, you can wind up dead all because you were non-vigilant.'

Beside him, Bruce perked up and looked straight at her again, but she was too busy glaring at Tony to acknowledge the oddly pleased sensation zapping through her chest at that.

The engineer held up a placating palm. 'All right, all right, no need to go all Black Widow on me,' he huffed, rolling his chestnut brown eyes. He was going for annoyance, but Natasha could see the confusion under the layers he used to create the 'Tony Stark, Howard Stark's prodigy son' persona.

The elevator doors opening eased the tension that still slithered through the room.

'My friends!' Thor's voice reached them before he did. 'It is so good to reunite with you all under more pleasurable circumstances.'

He rounded the corner. His clothing was so casual, polo shirt and dark washed jeans while his hair pulled back in a loose bun. He was grinning widely as he casually swung Mjölnir in his hand like one would a shopping bag.

'There's my favourite beach blonde god,' Tony exclaimed, tipping his mug to Thor before taking an exaggerated swig.

He promptly choked on the hot liquid. Bruce thumped his back as he coughed into his hand.

Natasha rolled her eyes, but kept glimpsing back at him as she joined the others to greet Thor. The third time she glanced back, she found herself meeting Bruce's scrutinising gaze.

She froze, unable to think of the appropriate expression she was meant to bring up. They just stayed like that, staring at each other, both faces as equally blank as each other, neither giving a thing away.

'Ah, the good doctor!'

Thor's exclamation tore Bruce's gaze from her and she felt like she could breathe again.

The demigod entered the kitchen, clasping Bruce's arm in a sign of comradeship that Bruce bemusedly returned.

'Tell me, how do you fair from the morn previous days ago?' Thor asked, his genuine concern unable to be waved off.

Bruce cocked his head, face blank, but this time with confusion. 'I'm … fine,' he said slowly.

''Tis a great reason to gather and celebrate then. My apologies for the stoic director. I am most glad his callous words did not cause you too much distress,' Thor grinned, turning his bright smile onto Tony, who was still painfully clearing his throat. 'Many thanks, Man of Iron, for making this grand occasion come to take place.'

Tony gave one more hack before turning his watery gaze to Thor. 'Don't thank me, thank Pepper,' he rasped, clutching at his throat, but judging by the one raised eyebrow from Bruce, it was obviously in exaggeration. 'She did it, _not_ me.'

Natasha's head whipped around at that, eyes sharp.

She knew a lie. She was the queen of the deadly play on words, weaving them into such an intricate web that no one could tell when the lies became the truths or the truths became the lies, twisted seamlessly together to rip a person's view of the world apart.

Tony's words, without a doubt, contained the delicate thread of a lie.

However, unlike when she lithely wove together her threads to create a web to hurt or ruin, Tony's lie obviously didn't have that intention. It wasn't just him simply not wanting anyone to know that he cared. It went a lot deeper than that. A lot, _lot_ deeper.

Pursing her lips the slightest bit, she vowed to just sit back and study for tonight.

Around everyone, Clint shot her a look which she returned with a nod, indicating she was fine.

' _Excuse me_ ,' JARVIS politely interrupted, causing everyone in the room to jump except Tony and Bruce, ' _but dinner has arrived_.'

Tony squeezed the back of Bruce's neck, causing a warmth to seep into the smaller man's eyes, making the colour look like melted caramel.

'Come on, Mr. Hyde,' he said cheerfully. 'Blueberries are no longer hitting the spot so the situation is about to hit dire levels.'

'I'll prepare the klaxon,' Bruce said wryly, but trotted beside the engineer without question.

As soon as they disappeared and the elevators closed with an almost imperceptible whoosh at the same time as Thor disappeared into the bathroom, Clint turned to the room in general.

'I can't be the only one noticing those two,' he said. 'When has Bruce been so clingy or kind of … shy? I mean, not like he was the life of the party, but still.'

Natasha rolled her eyes at his deadly serious tone that she knew held a playful element to it that many people didn't notice.

'No, you're not the only one,' she said thoughtfully, looking at the corner that hid where the two scientists disappeared to. She had a bit more understanding of Bruce's clinginess.

He'd found a comfort zone with Tony, something he obviously hadn't had for years. He wasn't wanting to let go of that any time soon and was probably scared it would disappear any moment. The poor guy was making as much use of it as possible.

Still though, the shyness had been taken to another level after the meeting on the Helicarrier.

She glanced at Steve. 'Did you catch up to them the other day?'

He nodded, absently rubbing the back of his neck. 'Yeah. Had a bit of a chat with them. Apparently there were a few things that went down between Stark and Fury that we were unaware of.'

Natasha's eyes sharpened. 'What sort of things?'

Steve shrugged his massive shoulders. 'Stark only said he wasn't coming back if Fury kept interfering in his affairs.' At the awkward way he was shifting, Natasha could tell Tony had used less polite words than that.

She didn't like being out of the loop with these sort of things. Tony was up to something, but her instincts told her it was nothing uncouth. Her feelings said the same thing about Fury though. The director hadn't been angry the other day when Tony stormed out. He'd been frustrated and even a few worried waves were permeating off him.

'We're getting off topic.' Clint waved his hand, obviously not caring about the tension between Fury and Stark. 'When did Stark become so buddy-buddy with … anybody before?'

'I haven't known the man that long, but I'm guessing this is a rarity,' Steve said dryly.

'You have no idea,' Natasha responded.

The stranger thing to her though was that Bruce had latched onto Tony as much as Tony had to him. Sure, Tony was the one dragging him everywhere, but Bruce obviously didn't want to be left behind. He'd run off after Tony to the elevators like an adoring …

Natasha couldn't put her damn finger on it. She had a feeling as well that Bruce would have done the same thing even if they weren't here. Pepper had indicated that as well. The two appeared practically inseparable.

She filed that away, thinking back to the increased viciousness in Tony's countenance when he felt Fury had upset Bruce.

Thor entered the same time as Tony and Bruce did, ten boxes of pizza balanced between the two of them.

'Youse better like pizza,' Tony said, dumping the pizza on the coffee table. 'If you don't, you're more than welcome to leave.'

'Such a charming host,' Natasha purred.

Tony turned a toothy grin on her. 'I know.'

He headed to the kitchen.

Bruce's eyes widened as he realised Tony was moving away and he put the boxes next to the others before promptly following him.

Thor grinned fondly after them, an understanding in his expression that Natasha still didn't have. Still though, it didn't make the whole strange thing any less endearing.

'Coffee, Bruce,' Tony was crowing from the kitchen as though he was just stumbling across the invention now.

'Lord help us all, that man does not need any more caffeine,' Steve mumbled, causing both Clint and Natasha to chuckle. He blinked in surprise as though he didn't realise he said it out loud, but soon returned the smiles with one of his own.

'You should see him on Red Bull,' Bruce said softly as he followed Tony back to the couches, causing more laughter from both spies, but the joke was lost on Steve and Thor.

Tony turned a wounded look on Bruce as he plopped on to the couch, chucking plastic plates to everyone like a Frisbee. 'You're meant to be on my side, Jolly Green.'

Natasha's fingers gripped into the couch coushion at the reference to the Hulk, but Bruce didn't blink, appearing more comfortable now than he had been before he left. Natasha had a strong feeling that had to do with something Tony said when they'd gone to get the pizzas.

'Not if your side includes destroying your health.'

'Health,' Tony snorted derisively before biting into a slice of pizza then promptly moaning. 'You can't tell me health is better than this.'

Clint bit into a slice and gave an exaggerated sigh. 'I'm sorry, guys, but,' he pretended to struggle with the next words, a tremble appearing in his voice, 'I'm … I'm going to have to agree with Stark on this one.'

Thor laughed heartily and Steve's face took on a more peaceful expression, some sadness that always was sitting there disappearing.

Tony grinned. 'I knew I liked you, Clint.'

Clint's smile was huge as he pointed his finger at Tony. 'You _do_ know my name!'

'I know everything.'

'Debatable,' Steve cut in, the cheekiness staying in his eyes for longer this time.

Bruce's shoulders shook at that and Tony turned his attention to Steve.

'So you do have another mode than humming the National Anthem while baking apple pies?'

Steve looked bemused rather than offended. 'I certainly hope so.'

'Pie!' Thor exclaimed, causing Bruce to jump and move slightly closer to Tony, who leaned against his side for a brief moment. 'Friend Tony, the Hawk advised me to ask you how there a thousand numbers in a pie.'

Steve began to laugh as Clint groaned. 'Thor, no! It was a joke! You want Tony to talk more than he already is?'

Tony's smile became cheekily radiant. 'Don't be rude, Robin Hood, the good man asked.'

With that, he launched into an explanation of what pi was while Thor looked on in shock before he finally got into reciting the first thousand numbers in pi.

By the time he got to number 200, Steve, Clint and Natasha were starting to clutch at their hair while Thor was thoroughly fascinated like he was being regaled with the most fascinating tale. Bruce didn't pause in munching on his pizza and sipping on his cup of coffee, oddly content as Tony continued to verbally torture them.

' _Excuse me, sir,_ ' JARVIS cut in, causing Tony to break off on number 325. Tony glared up at the ceiling, but before he could launch into how he was going to donate the AI to the closest community college, JARVIS continued. ' _But Miss Potts is placing a call to your cell phone that is currently on the kitchen island._ '

'Remind me to send Pepper some flowers for saving us from the most painful of deaths. And JARVIS some virtual ones as well,' Clint murmured.

Natasha gave one emphatic nod.

Tony's gaze immediately brightened at JARVIS's words. As he went to get up, Bruce stiffened next to him, a small shiver making his hands shake.

The engineer paused in getting up from the couch. 'Well, why didn't you say so, J?'

' _I did, sir._ '

'Don't think I won't use you to make an intelligent washing machine, JARVIS, because I will.'

' _Very good, sir._ '

'Don't "Very good" _me_ , J, you piece of …'

The banter continued on and little by little, Bruce relaxed. Even when Tony began to ease off the couch, he stayed loose as Tony continued his prattle all the way to the kitchen, which then gave way to a mumbled conversation with Pepper. However, it seemed that just his tone filling the room was enough to put Bruce at ease.

It was too convenient to be a coincidence. Tony had known exactly what he was doing.

By the soft looks on Steve, Clint and Thor's faces, they knew it too.

'Dr. Banner,' Steve said, gently drawing Bruce's attention from the depths of his mug. 'I've heard you've done some travels around the globe.'

Bruce's grin was wry as he absently circled an index finger around the rim of the cup. 'A few.'

Steve grinned. 'I didn't get to see France at its best, but I've heard it's beautiful now. Did you get to see it?'

Bruce's smile turned a bit embarrassed, as though he realised what Steve was trying to do. He was a genius as well after all.

Natasha couldn't help but notice that Tony had sat himself as close to Steve's arm chair as possible. He knew Bruce would follow closely too. Another element that was too convenient to be by accident. Steve had such an honesty about him that he would surely be the one to most put Bruce at ease other than Tony.

'I … didn't see much of France,' he admitted but then continued on without being pushed. 'I spent some time in Venice though.'

Steve shook his head. 'I didn't get to go there. What's it like?'

Thor perked up too, sitting on a chair parallel to Bruce and to the right of Steve. 'Please, good doctor, regale us of these Midgardian dwellings. Are they much different from here?'

The physicist grinned, getting caught up in the Asgardian's enthusiasm. 'They kind of are, yeah.'

'Come on, Doc,' Clint called from where he sat on the L of the lounge suite, next to Natasha and diagonal from Bruce. 'Regale us here.'

Despite the teasing, Clint's tone was gentle and drawing. Kind of like when he was coaxing Cooper into doing something he was afraid of.

Natasha took a bite of pizza to hide her smile. It looked like she wasn't the only one being drawn in by Bruce.

The conversation got flowing after that, Steve not prompting as much, Thor listening attentively while Clint chipped in with an unhelpful, dumb comment that had most of them snorting with laughter, Bruce never making a noise, but always making the movement.

Somehow, Tony had masterfully woven this to happen. Who knew the guy could be so socially adept that he could get Bruce to relax without the engineer permanently by his side. When Tony did re-enter, he didn't talk near as much, busying himself by eating slice after slice of pizza. When Natasha caught his gaze, his chestnut eyes were decidedly smug.

The man left every cat for dead with his level of smugness and self-assuredness.

After dinner, Tony proposed a movie.

'How about we play a game?' Steve suggested. At Tony's raised eyebrow, he raised his hands peacefully. 'This is meant to be a team bonding night and that is better to do with a game rather than movie,' he hastened to explain.

'We're not playing baseball up here,' Tony deadpanned.

He finally drew a glare from Steve. 'I do know how to do other things than all-American past times.'

'You mean like modelling a suit based of the American flag, Capsi …' Tony broke off as Bruce once again tugged at his sleeve, honeyed eyes bright with worry. Tony quickly rejoined his sentence with a simple, 'Cap.'

Beside him, Bruce relaxed, expression extremely grateful.

Steve blinked in surprise at the billionaire before a soft smile worked its way onto his face, showing off his dimples.

Tony must have sensed the impending onslaught of _feelings_ because he jumped to his feet, clapping his hands. 'Game it is then! Don't worry, I'll stay away from anything too much for the faint-hearted.' He made a face over at Clint before jerking a thumb at Steve. 'Could you imagine if we introduced him to _Cards against Humanity_?'

Clint cracked up as Thor and Steve looked on in confusion.

Natasha smirked. It softened into a smile as Bruce subtly got up and followed after Tony. With it now being dark and the lights bright in the common room, reflections were perceptible in the windows when at the right angle. Natasha could see the moment Tony spotted Bruce behind him because the skin around his eyes crinkled strongly and he allowed himself a fond smile that had a different kind of warmth than he had for Pepper. His gait subtly slowed so Bruce could easily catch up. He would have denied it to his dying day if he realised Natasha had seen it.

She wasn't planning on broaching it with him though. She was just satisfied to have witnessed it, enjoying the warmth that had settled into her chest that usually only came from watching Cooper or Lila.

Once again, she couldn't name what the hell was going on with those two, but it was strangely addicting to watch.

Coming back from around the corner next to the television, Tony returned with Bruce at his heels, holding _Taboo_ in one hand and in the other, _Cards against Humanity_. Of course he did. Bruce was cuddling _Pictionary_ to his chest.

Steve wasn't up-to-date, but he wasn't an idiot. He downright refused to play _Cards against Humanity_. Tony gave in and put up _Pictionary_ , probably wanting to lull the soldier into a false sense of security with a game he would love because it involved drawing.

A white board was pulled out from somewhere as Clint and Bruce put the plastic plates in the rubbish while storing the leftover pizza. Clint looked like he wanted to make a comment about how it was Natasha's job because she was a female and it had to do with the kitchen. With one eyebrow raise on her part, he wisely changed his mind.

They drew colours out of a container to pick teams. Natasha wound up with Thor, Bruce and Clint were teamed up and Steve was paired with Tony. Of course they were.

It soon became apparent that anything Natasha drew, Thor didn't recognise and vice-versa. When she had drawn a tornado, but all Thor would come out with was a portal, she was tempted to throw her marker at him. She satisfied herself by smacking Clint upside the head as he unsuccessfully snorted back laughter. Thor wasn't any better, going through card after card because he had no idea what any of them were.

Tony took great pleasure in calling out the dumbest answers imaginable when it was Steve drawing for their team. Steve drew a perfect tiger, teeth bared and all. Tony said it was a bald lion. Steve whipped out a lively sketch of a wolf baying at the moon in less than twenty seconds. Tony guessed it to be John Smith on all fours, crying for Pocahontas when she dumped him for John Ralph. Steve stroked out beautiful lines to create the crazy hair and tell-tale moustache of Albert Einstein. Tony threw his arms in the air, exclaiming with childish glee, 'It's me!'

Of course he did.

Beside him, Bruce playfully slumped into his side just like Tony had done to him that day on the Helicarrier, honeyed eyes shining with laughter. No amount of dirty looks Steve sent Tony could wipe the smile from the engineer's face from that point forward.

On Natasha's turn, she had actually come across a card with _Tony Stark_ written on it. She had promptly put it at the back of the packet, despite it actually being something Thor would have a prayer of recognising. But she was not putting herself through what would be brought on if she drew Tony. His ego would swell that much that she would be forced to kill him then Pepper would never speak to her again. And she liked Pepper.

When it came to Tony's turn to draw, Steve tried his hardest, but couldn't make heads or tails of the engineer's indecipherable scrawl.

'That's a rubber duck!' Tony screeched, hands pulling at his hair before throwing his arms out wide then pointing at the mishmash of scribbles with both index fingers. 'That's Ernie playing with it in the bathtub. How could you not _see_ that?'

Steve simply stared, mouth wide open, eyes beyond confused.

'You know,' Clint indicated to Tony's hair, now standing on end because of him pulling at it, 'you do kind of look like Einstein.'

Tony threw the marker at Clint's head. His aim was pretty good if Natasha did say so herself.

Clint and Bruce were the only ones that actually worked together well. Clint's drawing wasn't half bad while Bruce studied it like he did anything he put his concentration into. Bruce's artistic talent was quite good and Clint was sharp, able to guess some harder cards like parapet or waltz.

In the end, Clint and Bruce won by a landslide with Natasha and Thor having only moved about ten spaces while Tony and Steve were a dismal last.

'Up top, Doc,' Clint cheered.

There was no self-deprecation or nervousness in the smile Bruce gave as he enthusiastically gave the archer a high five.

Tony grabbed the corner of the board game then turned to Steve.

'Tip the board with me?'

'What?' Steve asked with a hint of laughter, all annoyance fading with the billionaire.

'Tip the board with me.' Tony emphasised his point by indicating the object with a tilt of his head.

Steve raised his eyebrows, but moved forward anyway. Together, they both threw the board high, sending the pieces flying. The soldier laughed as the cheap plastics clattered down around them.

'Down below, Cap,' Tony grinned and Steve's smile remained as he gave Tony a low five, a chuckle escaping him.

 _Cards against Humanity_ was enthusiastically campaigned for by both Clint and Tony. Steve actually looked like he was considering it, but Natasha said she wanted to play _Taboo_ just to tick Clint off because he had been such a smug winner.

' _Taboo_ 's good,' Bruce said softly.

Natasha blinked over at him. He looked back at her then smiled softly, unsurely. She cocked her head, strangely touched by his attempt at trying to do something nice for her. Her lips quirked.

Truthfully, it did sound interesting. It was a game where one tried to describe a word on a card without using five taboo words specified on the card. If correct, a person could take another card and continue, but if a taboo word was said, that person's turn was over.

Once Bruce said he wanted _Taboo_ , Tony immediately switched sides with the only stipulation that Bruce had to be on his team. No one argued because no one wanted Tony on their team. Besides, Bruce looked thrilled, whether from being picked first or being on Tony's team, Natasha wasn't sure. She bemusedly hoped Bruce wasn't so blinded by his obvious adoration of the engineer for it not to be the first choice but judging by the smile on the physicist's face when Tony slung an arm around his shoulders, it was definitely the latter.

After teaching Thor paper, scissors, rocks, they used that to decide who else would choose their team. Natasha won against Steve then promptly picked him, causing Clint to poke his tongue out at her. Bruce's shoulders began shaking again. Each time Tony noticed, he looked minutely sad and Natasha was figuring out why.

Bruce never laughed out loud. There were so many reasons as to why that would be, none of them pleasant at all.

Clint seemed to put it together the same time for he pushed the cards in the board game towards Bruce. When the physicist looked at him curiously, Clint just shrugged, moving to perch on Steve's arm chair so he could make sure he didn't say any of the taboo words when it was his turn.

It became apparent in the first thirty seconds why Tony had insisted him and Bruce be on the same team. It was like the two scientists shared the same damn brain. Bruce would simply say something like, 'An Aerosmith song,' in which Tony would happily proclaim, ' _Toys in the Attic_.'

'Last word.'

'Attic.'

'That's it,' Bruce declared, chucking the card aside and grabbing another one.

How the hell Bruce knew Aerosmith was a shock to Natasha as she watched the two work seamlessly together, Tony continuing to get the answer with just a few words.

By the end of their turn, they'd scored seven when the rules said that a good round was four, five maximum.

Clint kept saying one of the words that were taboo. Steve appeared to take great pleasure in pointing it out to him, in which Clint would curse and throw the card down without Thor even having a chance to guess.

Steve was solid, describing the word as best he could, getting Natasha to actually guess three cards.

When it came round to Tony, his words were so fast that it was hard to decipher him. Natasha was peering over his shoulder at the card, making sure he didn't say any of the words he shouldn't and she could only just tell.

However, Bruce didn't have any trouble, calmly saying one word without saying half a dozen guesses previous. He was always correct.

The whole thing looked pretty funny. Tony, all manic energy and noise, talking madly and making Natasha continually dodge his gesticulating hand while Bruce, all peaceful Zen and quietness, making the most in-sync team there.

By the end of their turn, they'd scored eight.

'A record,' Tony cheered. 'Air high five!'

Bruce chuckled from where he sat next to Thor and half-heartedly gave the air a swat.

'Incredibly weak, sir,' Tony snorted snootily, but he happily passed the cards on to Thor.

'I can't believe you're the same person that I played with in the previous game,' Steve grumbled blandly.

'Don't hate the player, hate the game,' the billionaire retorted cheerfully.

'No, I'm pretty sure I should hate the player.'

Before Tony could give a comeback, something he always had no matter what, Thor launched into his turn, not even waiting for the timer to be turned over.

He was incredibly cautious, always glancing at the taboo words to make sure he never said them, which caused his descriptions to be incredibly long-winded and stilted. Once again, he had to go through that many cards because he didn't know what so many of the words were.

By the time his turn was through, Clint looked more harrowed then when Tony had been reciting the first thousand numbers of pi.

They scored one, making it turn to Natasha. She was as solid as Steve and he was fairly good at guessing because she modified her descriptions to aptly describe what he knew about. Tony looked like he wanted to hassle her if his flitting, glittering eyes were anything to go by, but she suspected he withheld himself more for Bruce's sake than from fear of her.

Again, the man was an expert of walking the line between incredibly stupid or extremely brave.

Natasha and Steve scored five then the round began again, going back to Bruce.

It didn't take a genius to know who was going to win this.

By the end, Tony and Bruce sat easily victorious at 56 points, Steve and Natasha on 29 while Clint and Thor had struggled to get their 8.

Tony stretched, looking so like a smug cat that Natasha felt like shoving him off the couch. 'Well, I don't know about you lot, but a movie sounds pretty good 'round 'bout now.'

'Sure,' Steve nodded.

Grinning, Tony got up, waving for the soldier to follow. 'Come on, Cap,' he said. 'Let me introduce you to the modern way of creating popcorn.'

Steve shrugged amicably and stood up.

'I, too, will watch how you make this creation,' Thor said, following after the other two.

Clint jumped up as well. 'Do you have any Pepsi?'

Before Natasha realised it, she was sitting on the lounges alone with Bruce. One glance at him told her he was just as bewildered as he ducked his head and fiddled with the end of his sweater.

Natasha watched him, keeping her face neutral, as she tried to figure out how to bridge the obvious gap between them. He reached out to her earlier though so it couldn't be too bad. Right?

As the voices swelled in the kitchen, Tony swatting both Steve and Thor away from his precious coffee machine, saying, 'That doesn't make the popcorn, that's what produces my life elixir!', causing Thor to ask him if he was immortal, Natasha found herself softly chuckling.

Bruce glanced over at her, honeyed eyes cautious, but also curious.

She simply gestured to the right. 'Just listening to the lunatics,' she said then blinked at her sentence. She was so at ease that she hadn't picked out her words as much as she usually did.

To her surprise and unexpected happiness, Bruce's shoulders shook. 'Yeah,' he said, the fondness evident in his voice. 'It's never boring.'

She had a feeling he was referring to not just the time of them all being there. 'Stark would be a constant entertainment, I could imagine.'

Bruce nodded, the upturn around his lips disappearing as he absently stared into the distance.

Natasha held back a frown, wondering what she'd said to change his mood. It was just so hard to predict at times.

However, Bruce surprised her again by speaking up in a quiet voice with something else hidden within the tone she couldn't immediately identify.

'Thanks, you know.'

She cocked her head, indicating for him to go on.

He must have seen it because he clarified himself. 'For what you said to Tony. About making sure he's safe. He is vigilant when anyone else is around, but when it's just himself …' Bruce trailed off, letting that hang in the air.

When it was just Tony, he either didn't think himself important enough to properly ensure his own safety or he just thought he was that indestructible. Probably a bit of both. She didn't like the sound of either.

'It's good that you're here then,' she found herself saying. She wondered if he heard her hidden meaning like she did his.

Bruce glanced sharply up at her. 'What?' he sounded a little bit breathless as though it had been knocked out of him from shock.

'It's good you're here. I'm glad you are,' she said.

One part of her was manipulating him. She wanted to bridge the gap, try to make him at ease with her and perhaps get him one step closer to forgiving her for not doing what she said. However, the other part of her, the one she kept safely locked within her heart in fear that someone would use those softer feelings to hurt the people that made up her entire world, showed her she once again meant the words. Despite them being the perfect ones to be used, they were also completely true.

She shifted uncomfortably, feeling like breaking off the intense eye contact, but it was ingrained in her to never do that. It was a weakness and she was anything but weak.

The honeyed brown softened with surprise and such extreme gratefulness that she felt guilty he could react so strongly to just words.

'Thank you,' he whispered, turning back to fiddling with his sleeve.

The words meant more to him than even she could have predicted. To elicit that strong reaction made something in her chest tighten. Because no human should ever be so grateful for a couple of kind words, particularly from someone like herself. But here he was, acting like he had been given a blessing by the Pope himself. It wasn't right. It just wasn't right. Someone like Bruce … and here, she glanced over him again, her features unwillingly softened with sadness as she took in how he tucked in around himself like he was giving himself his own comfort because he never expected anyone else nor thought he deserved it … someone like Bruce should never have to be so starved for some nice words. Someone that had come back even if it meant getting locked in a cage but just because it was the right thing. Someone who kept reaching out despite getting continually burned, but never cursed the world for it and instead accepted his treatment as something he deserved. Someone who had so much to give, not in being a superhero, scientist or doctor, but as a shy, kind, dry, terrible sense of humour, bashful dork if the world would only let him.

'Hey,' she said around the tightness in her throat out of practiced ease.

He glanced up at her, a still grateful smile poking at the corners of his mouth.

She wanted to say she was sorry for manipulating, but it was how she functioned for so long that she sometimes didn't know another mode with people she didn't know. She wanted to say that he shouldn't let the world kick him down because he did _not_ deserve it. She wanted to say so much. Instead, she simply said, 'It was nice to get to know you a bit more, Doc.'

It wasn't exactly what she wanted, but she decided that the way he turned his gaze down to hide his shy smile, blush working up his cheeks, that it was a good start. For both him and her.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi y'all!

I hope you all enjoy this update. , After a comment, you will get to see in later updates different POVs from the Avengers so I hope you enjoy that as well. For now though, this is mostly fluff, but action is about to happen soon where an Avenger is going to get injured and Tony and Fury's tension will come to a head. So, yes, there is a plot in here somewhere.

In future parts, it is going to jump on further ahead too, like after Iron Man 3, Captain America 2 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. I realised, in a lot of ways, this isn't majorly compliant with Thor: The Dark World because I'm making Thor stick around, but I'm going with my head cannon that Thor was around with the Avengers, but didn't go to see Jane because he was trying to sever ties because of Odin and he believed his way of life was a danger and unfair to Jane. Beauty of artistic license lol.

Also, big thanks to all the favs and follows! As always, please let me know what you think in the comments because it is definitely inspirational to continue writing when I get encouragement.

Without further ado, here is the next chapter!

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When Tony called her up the first time with the proposition of a team bonding night, Natasha didn't think it would become a thing. She had simply been grateful that during the first night, someone didn't end up in traction (Tony or Clint) or a person in tears (Steve … or maybe even Thor. Depending on how hard Tony went at it). So, she was happy to just go with the 'Let's do it and say we did' then leave it at that. Natasha didn't look a gun that didn't fire in the mouth.

'Charades?'

Natasha ducked behind the doorframe, dodging the barrage of bullets by the mob her and Clint had just broken wide open.

'What?' She frowned, slamming another cartridge into her revolver before pulling out her second gun.

Clint took a split second to whip out an arrow and let it fly. The pained screech told of how he'd hit his target who had been trying to creep up along the side to get a shot around the doorframe.

'Charades,' he repeated, notching another arrow into his bow, but waiting this time as the people began firing a little bit more frantically, shots going wide. They actually managed to get one bullet through the doorway and Natasha leaned further back into the shadows. 'I want to play Charades on the next team bonding night. I want to see if Stark can stay quiet for that long.'

There was a lull in the firing. Natasha curved around and let off four precise shots, dropping the mobsters where they stood. The remaining four immediately threw down their weapons, hands in the air. Only _now_ did they see the flaw in trying to fight off the Black Widow and Hawkeye.

'You're bringing this up now?' she asked, securing the hands of one particularly ugly man while the others quaked as Clint stared them down, arrow waiting to be let loose at the smallest of movements.

Clint snorted, gaze completely unwavering. 'So you get to bring up Budapest during an alien invasion and I'm not allowed to throw out a suggestion on best games to play with the team?'

Natasha nodded her consent as she brought her knee down on the back of one of the guys she downed with a bullet, who was pitifully trying to reach for a discarded weapon. He didn't move after that.

'Fair enough,' she murmured then as she calmly broke the arm of a mobster who had surrendered then decided to go for her with a knife while Clint downed another with an arrow to his knee who decided rebellion was a good idea, she cocked her head. 'You know, Hawkeye, I don't see it happening.'

'What? Stark playing Charades? Yeah, probably not, but I could try, yeah?' Another guy ended up with an arrow in his hand to go with the bullet in his leg because he'd been stupid enough to go for his AK-47.

Natasha preoccupied herself with tying a downed man's hands while Clint took on the final one standing, apparently thinking he was better than all his counterparts. 'No, I mean the nights in general.'

Clint did a backwards flip, dodging the machete aimed for his head, then brought his bow up to clock the guy across the jaw, effectively laying him out. Only then did he turn his gaze on to her, grey eyes disappointed. 'Really?'

She allowed her red hair to fall over her face so she didn't feel such a strong flash of guilt as she moved towards the man moaning on the floor as he clutched his jaw. 'I kind of thought we were going for a "Quit while we're ahead" tactic.'

When no response was forthcoming, she glanced back up, hands nimbly tying knots without even looking.

Clint's expression would have appeared stoic to any outsider but his lips weren't in such a flat line nor were his eyes as dark. 'When has that one ever suited us?'

Natasha's lips quirked the slightest bit as she tightened the ropes a little bit unnecessarily but this was the guy that had went at Clint with a machete. 'Never.'

That night, Tony rang her up, asking if she and her super-secret spy twin had any preferences for their team dinner that Thursday, an appointment she didn't remember making.

'I'm not asking Rogers,' he'd said. 'He's just going to pick something patriotic like hotdogs with sparklers sticking out of them. Not that I don't like hotdogs with sparklers sticking out of them, but saying that to Capsicle is kind of sending the wrong message, don't you think?'

When Tony had started, she had every intention of telling him that neither she nor Clint could come. They were meant to be debriefing early tomorrow so couldn't afford to be distracted or stray from concentrating on what happened on their mission.

However, one glance at Clint, whose eyes had turned bright with anticipation as soon as he heard Tony blathering on the other end, she found herself saying she wanted Chinese and don't forget the peanut sauce.

'Do you want a side of communism with that?' Tony asked, not caring about the amount of cultures he was insulting or stereotyping with that one comment.

So that was how she wound up back at Stark Tower, sitting on the ridiculously comfy lounge suite while a movie played on the ridiculously huge television, Clint tossing popcorn into his mouth on her right, while Thor slumbered to her left. She was tempted to blame Tony for it, but that meant she was admitting he manipulated her into doing something she didn't want to do and it was a dangerous precedent to set that the billionaire would think he had that type of sway.

Still though, it wasn't a _thing_. Sure, now every Thursday for the past four weeks they had met up, eaten, played some games or watched a couple of movies, but that meant nothing. And maybe, she got a bit of a spring in her step the closer it got to each Thursday, but what was the harm in a bit of harmless fun? It wasn't like Clint or her got a whole lot of it so that was okay, wasn't it?

Also, their time spent socialising was contributing to their work on the battlefield. They'd been called out three times so far, all on account of a particular terrorist group who were actually merging weapons with people's bodies to form a type of cyborg soldier. She was working with the group more as a whole rather than sticking to her own agenda, Steve was trusting Clint's observations more as opposed to just sticking with his plans while Thor and Tony were making a great team in the skies. All three times, Bruce hadn't had to participate, but he proved helpful through the COMMs in calling out weak spots in the cyborgs. His suggestions had been tentative at first, but when the whole team had quickly praised him at how effective his advice had been, he was more forthcoming, obviously pleased to be contributing through science and chemical make-up rather than becoming the Hulk. Both he and Tony were working together to see how the cyborgs were being created at such great rates and obviously being controlled through their computer parts rather than their human side.

All in all, it was going swimmingly.

Well, except for the whole _Cards against Humanity_ incident. Somehow, Tony had wheedled Steve into giving it a go.

Steve didn't talk to Tony for a week after that.

At first, Tony was pleased as punch with the new development, saying he was no longer in danger of being infected with _patrioticus Captain Americus_. However, after a few days, Steve's silence appeared to be getting to him because he wasn't getting a rise whenever he would sling clichés and insults in the soldier's direction.

It became a competition then to see who would break first, Tony to make an apologetic gesture without _looking_ like he was or Steve to just simply give in. Clint was betting on Tony and Natasha was wagering on Steve.

The archer hadn't considered Tony's other superpower of pure annoyance. In the third battle, Tony had filled up the COMMs with such pointless chatter about the cyborg designs, wondering how the aerodynamics of Thor's hammer worked and if he should have painted his armour a sleek blue so he could look almost invisible in the sky that Steve finally had enough, yelling into his ear piece, 'Jesus Christ, Iron Man, head in the game!'

There was dead silence for all of three seconds before Tony had crowed with glee, announcing that he had corrupted Captain America with blasphemy, taking the, in his words, 'Lord's name in vain'.

Clint was laughing so hard that Natasha couldn't hear the explosions of the robotic cyber arm she had just taken out on an enemy. He was still in an unremarkably good mood as they made their way back to the base house Bruce had been watching the feeds on, even when she got him to cough up the hundred dollars he owed her.

'I broke Rogers,' Tony announced cheerfully as he strode into the house, already free of his armour.

'So I heard,' Bruce said dryly, his eyes roving over Tony then the rest, visibly checking for injuries.

Natasha was hit with the urge to place a hand on his shoulder to remove the haunted glow from his eyes as he spotted a particularly large bruise on her cheek. Tony took care of it for her though as he playfully ruffled the physicist's curls and Bruce tried to swat him away, grin firmly on his face.

It was times like that her heart throbbed with a real affection for this team.

Steve had been sour for a few hours, but brightened when Tony had treated them to dining at a little steakhouse. Then, they'd gone back to Stark Tower to watch _Bonanza_ , which Steve loved because he'd taken a liking to Westerns. Yeah, this team was all right.

Still though, team bonding night wasn't a _thing_.

She came to the conclusion though that Clint didn't share her thinking when he interrupted a meeting with Fury about their mission on the mob they had infiltrated, clapping his hands.

'Well,' he'd said, pushing himself up from the chair. 'We'll continue this tomorrow. Time to head off.'

Fury had been fairly close to spluttering as he watched the archer move towards the door. 'And where, pray tell, to?'

'Stark Tower,' Clint said succinctly before disappearing.

The director turned his piercing gaze on her, one part bewilderment, one part accusing.

'Team bonding night,' she said with a shrug then disappeared before Fury could say anything else.

So, as far as Clint was concerned, this was definitely a thing.

Three weeks from that time again, after three more random battles with three different terrorist groups that had popped up out of nowhere, Bruce still not participating, she was back in the exact same spot she always was for movies, Clint and Thor in their respective positions.

On this team bonding night _that was still not a thing_ , as always, Bruce and Tony were in the vicinity of each other, both sitting on the end part of the L on the lounge suite. Bruce had become more and more open with them all in the past weeks. Natasha found that once she got past the whole 'Hulk being in his body' thing and he started to get past his shyness, she greatly enjoyed his company. Unlike many of the men she'd known in her life, Bruce was a softer soul, preferring almost any solution rather than violence despite being able to win any altercation. There was something about him she now found calming and strangely humanising. She couldn't imagine how she felt like jumping out of her skin when she first met him. The thought was almost laughable now as she watched the physicist curl into the couch, making himself a smaller target as possible, more instinct rather than feeling threatened.

She genuinely hoped that would fade in time and she got to see more of his sense of humour, no matter how terrible. The man couldn't tell a joke to save his life. Sarcasm, yes. Jokes, no.

The assassin found though, no matter what, she loved to hear Bruce talk when he was unguarded, which was usually when he was in conversation with Tony, but he was slowly getting better with everyone in general. His tone took on such a melodic, almost musical lilt and it was such a pleasure to listen to. She vaguely wondered if she never noticed this tid-bit about him before or he just never sounded like it because he'd never been happy enough. She seriously hoped it was the former and tried as often as she could to get Bruce into conversation with anyone so she could just let his tones wash over her. It helped her relax after particularly stressful missions.

Like now, she had settled back into the couch, dividing her attention between the film and Bruce patiently trying to explain to Steve why the sneaker shoes retained Michael Jordan's basketball playing skills and was able to transfer to the teenaged boy, voice soothingly lilting in the dimness of the tower's common lounge area.

'I wonder if that's possible,' Tony interrupted. At Steve and Bruce's quizzical looks, he clarified, 'Like able to embed your abilities into non-sentient objects?'

Steve couldn't have looked more bored at the hypothesis, but Bruce's eyes glittered very similar to the way Tony looked when inspiration hit him.

That was it then. Poor Steve was left to try to follow the movie on his own while the two scientists went at it, throwing out ridiculous theory after ridiculous theory until Bruce's shoulders were shaking so hard that he looked like he could throw something out. Tony, thanks to the bottle of scotch he put a considerable dent in, was drunkenly giggling, flopping to his right and left as he tried to sit upright

'How 'bout this … how 'bout this,' he kept saying, but was unable to go any further because he was full-on giggling that hard.

'I give up,' Steve muttered, leaving his arm chair to go to the bathroom.

Clint ignored them all in favour of the movie. He had been greatly enjoying it and was content to let everyone fight it out around him as long as they didn't directly interfere with his viewing.

'Oh, Rogers, get your stars and stripes shorts out of the twist,' Tony called after him then promptly collapsed on to his right side, body shaking with chuckles at his own joke.

Steve didn't break his pace and simply shook his head.

Bruce good-naturedly rolled his eyes and pushed himself further into the corner of the L to give Tony more room as he sprawled out, limbs everywhere.

Natasha glanced around Thor's massive frame. 'Want me to remove him for you?' she offered with over-exaggerated sweetness.

Bruce waved her off, getting used to the way she threatened people by making what seemed like a nice suggestion. 'Nah, he's fine.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'He's really not.'

The physicist snorted at that. He was able to understand her double meanings almost as good as Clint. He grinned down at Tony as the engineer began to hum along to the cheerleader sequence in the movie as they sang about basketball.

'Yeah,' he said softly. 'He is.'

The darkness hid the quirk at the corner of her lips.

Tony blindly reached out beside him then managed to push himself up on to his elbows, frowning around the room. 'Where's my scotch?'

Natasha unnoticeably tucked the bottle deeper into the gap between the couch cushions behind her.

'No idea,' she said and Clint sent her a subtle wink without every breaking his gaze from the screen.

Tony's face fell and he turned his heartbroken gaze to the doctor behind him.

'It's all gone?' he asked, sad brown eyes becoming puppy-like.

Bruce bit his lip to hide his smile. 'I'm afraid so, Tones,' he said, sympathetically patting the billionaire's shoulder. They were still the only ones that casually touched each other with such a familial feel though Thor, after a particularly strenuous battle, had thrown a companionable arm around Steve's shoulders. The soldier had looked shocked for a moment, but it was more from so long of no one touching him like that rather than dislike and he soon returned the gesture to the demigod, who had looked beyond pleased.

Tony continued to stare at Bruce, expression hopeful like he thought Bruce could fix this disaster.

Bruce, to Natasha's amusement, was actually able to stay strong and not give into the other man like he always did. ( _'Bruce! Help me give my Jag repulsors so it'll be like a Bat mobile!'_ _'If you really want to, Tony.'_ _'Bruce! Let's make weaponized cufflinks like we saw in that James Bond movie last night.' 'I guess we could give it a try, Tony.'_ _'Bruce! Do you wanna be a pal and let the Hulk out at the annual SI Head of Boards meeting?' Pepper had thankfully stepped in there before Bruce had a chance to respond.)_

'Look, Tones,' Bruce cried now, pointing over-enthusiastically at the screen. 'Calvin's about to … do something.'

'That's creating the cliff-hanger,' she said dryly, in which Bruce shrugged indifferently.

Tony sent a half-hearted glare at the television. 'The cheerleader sequence is over,' he said sulkily. 'That's my favourite part.'

'We can take it back,' Bruce said, his voice taking on a pleading tone. The man looked one second away from breaking and giving in to whatever Tony demanded.

The engineer brightened. 'Really?'

Bruce gave a relieved sigh and patted his shoulder again. 'Really.'

Clint smirked. 'No complaints here.' He grunted as the assassin beside him jabbed an elbow into his ribs. 'Low blow.'

'You know me. It's really not,' she said, casually stealing some popcorn from his bowl.

JARVIS rewound the movie and as the part played over again, Tony shifted until he was further up the couch and contently let his head flop back, right on Bruce's thigh.

Natasha observed as the physicist immediately stiffened. He stared down at the black-haired man, eyes huge. However, as Natasha continued to watch, she realised Bruce wasn't scared. For himself anyway.

'Tony,' he murmured, giving the genius a tentative poke in the shoulder.

The man blindly swatted at his hands. 'Leave it, big man,' he slurred. 'Comfy.'

Bruce blinked at that, obviously taken aback. He hardly seemed to breathe as he observed Tony's eyes flutter shut and body loosen even more until his mouth was hanging wide open, limbs still awry. He even threw one arm above his head. His fingers unconsciously fisted into the fabric of Bruce's flannel shirt.

Bruce actually stopped breathing there for a second and Natasha tossed a concerned look towards him.

'Bruce?' she questioned softly and for the first time, Clint glanced away from the screen as well.

The usual recluse didn't reply. Thankfully though, he started breathing again, taking concentrated, deep breathes until he stopped being so pale.

Clint shrugged to himself and turned back to the television. Natasha couldn't bring herself to look away, concern rather than adrenaline coursing through her at seeing Bruce so tense. She now knew he wasn't going to 'Hulk-out' over something so tiny, but she found she simply didn't like to see Bruce upset. He'd spent so long like that so the guy deserved as much a break as possible.

Once he calmed though, Bruce simply watched the engineer as he slumbered on. After several minutes, when Tony didn't so much as shift, Bruce's shoulders loosened as he appeared to deem no immediate harm was going to come to the man using his lap as a pillow from being so close to him.

Natasha pushed away a stab of guilt when she put it together that was why Bruce had been so scared that Tony made himself vulnerable near the person who contained the Hulk.

However now, his previously cautious expression gave way to a wondrous one as though he couldn't believe that Tony trusted him this much. His gaze didn't once stray as though seeing Tony drool in his sleep was the most amazing, precious sight ever. A barely perceptible smile flitted across his face.

As time went by, Clint probably more oblivious to the world than Thor and Tony, Natasha watched as Bruce's left hand twitched where it had been clutched to his chest in his apprehension. Slowly, it lowered until it just hovered above Tony's crazy bed-hair.

Bruce glanced over at her and she realised with how his eyes were widened in question and still a bit of fear, as though just waiting to be reprimanded, that he was actually waiting for her permission. As though that if he touched Tony when the engineer couldn't defend himself that she would rip him away from the eccentric genius like he was some sort of monster that was planning on doing him harm.

She tried not to take that too personally. About five weeks ago, she very well might have. But now, she knew differently. She knew _Bruce_ , or, at very least, knew he would never _ever_ consciously allow harm to befall Tony. It was an impossibility like gravity suddenly stopping. Actually, gravity faltering was more feasible than Bruce hurting Tony.

Swallowing, she gave a soft nod.

Once again, Bruce treated her to an overwhelming expression of gratefulness like he couldn't believe that not only was Tony trusting him, but she was trusting him with _Tony_ , to him, one of the most precious people in the world.

Before she could even begin to comprehend the heaviness that placed on her chest, making her breathing stumble just the slightest bit, Bruce's fingers tentatively flitted across Tony's hair before he quickly clutched them back to his chest. Natasha had no idea what he could have expected to happen, but when the world didn't end as he seemed to expect it to, he returned his hand to the engineer's head, a tad braver this time.

His steady fingers trailed through Tony's hair so gently that the sleeping man wouldn't have felt a thing. Bruce paused again, this time not jumping back like he did before. Again, when nothing bad happened, another happy grin appeared on his face, lasting a little bit longer this time. When he stroked through Tony's silky, wild hair a third time, it was a fraction stronger again.

Tony continued to slumber on, oblivious to the paradoxical turmoil and wonder he was causing Bruce.

As time went on though, Bruce's apprehensiveness faded and he was enamoured with the activity as he glanced between his hand and Tony's lax face.

And when Tony snuffled and turned his face to burrow into the physicist's stomach, Bruce's joy brightened the room. Such excitement filled every expressive line on his face and his soft lips formed a surprised, but thrilled 'O', eyes glimmering.

His head whipped around to look at her. The most beautiful smile she had ever seen him give lit his face up and she was struck with a thought she had never had when observing him.

Bruce was very handsome.

He looked like he wanted to say something to her, to let her know the joy of what he was feeling.

'Natasha,' he breathed as though afraid if he spoke any louder, the peace would shatter and this beautiful picture would break into nacreous images that never existed.

She found herself smiling back at him. Not one of her little lip quirks or aggressive smiles suggesting bodily harm or even her content grin. This was one she only reserved for four people in the world and she couldn't stop from giving it to him. How could she not when he was looking at her like that, whole being practically vibrating with wondrous happiness. He still couldn't figure out why he was being what he considered blessed, but he couldn't bring himself to push it away.

'I know, Bruce,' she whispered.

This was probably the first time someone had let down their guard that much near him in years and longer again since someone had fallen _asleep_ next to him. And here was Tony, willingly trusting Bruce to … watch over him. So, yes, she did know.

Bruce's beautiful smile didn't fade and if anything, grew happier again. He turned back to Tony and reverently laid a hand on his head.

The engineer mumbled something in his sleep.

Bruce laughed. Out loud, a soft, throaty chuckle, beautiful and soft and a little dorky. Just like him.

With Thor and Tony sleeping, Steve absent and Clint basically in a television coma, Natasha was claiming she was the first one privileged to hear Dr. Robert Bruce Banner laugh out loud.

Take that, Tony Stark.

She was going to leave out the part where it was actually Tony who _made_ him laugh.

Details, details.

If she sent Tony a soft, grateful smile when he blearily woke up, causing him to smell his breath to try to gauge how drunk he still was, she wasn't planning on telling him why.

And if from that point forward she privately decided team bonding nights was a thing because she didn't want to miss out on moments like that, she certainly wasn't telling anyone that either.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the comments, follows and faves :D. Please let me know what you think of this next chapter. I think I've went slightly overboard with the fluff in this chapter, but I couldn't help it. It was like I was possessed!

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter in all its fluffy glory. Please let me know what you think in the comments and if there is a scene you really would like to see chucked in there somewhere and I might be able to work it :).

*WARNING! There is references to abuse. Anyone familiar with Bruce's past knows it wasn't the nicest and this has vague implications of when Bruce's father wanted to experiment on him as a child because he thought there was something wrong with Bruce, mostly because of Bruce's intellect at such a young age.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

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'Not that I don't enjoy your calls, Stark, which I don't, but why the hell would you ring _me_ up to ask how to treat a cold?' Natasha asked.

'Pepper is in a meeting and I can't get a hold of her, JARVIS is in the middle of an upgrade I can't interrupt otherwise he'll revert back to a basic state, the Internet doesn't offer much besides chicken soup or the hospital, which just … no. Rogers doesn't understand the concept of _mobile_ phone, the archer in your band of not-so-Merry Men has his phone turned off and Thor … seriously?'

'Glad to know I was you're first choice.'

'Besides,' Tony continued on like she hadn't even spoke, 'you're like a Russian Macgyver. Haven't you ever had to do like, I don't know, heart surgery with just a knife and packet of aspirin?'

She rolled her eyes, feeling a mixture of exasperation and amusement. 'No, Stark, I have not.'

'What? I'm downgrading you, Red. You're like a member of the A Team. You're Face. Actually, you're the guy who played Face in the pilot episode that no one remembers.'

'Okay, I'm hanging up now.'

'No, wait!'

Natasha paused at the sheer panic in his voice. 'Tony?' She asked softly.

'It's Bruce,' he said, sounding flustered and that's when Natasha thought the world was probably actually ending because Tony Stark didn't _do_ flustered. 'He's sick with a fever. I didn't even know that could happen to him with Shrek camping inside of him, but turns out it can. And he doesn't drink and I don't know how to treat a cold that doesn't involve rum and he doesn't drink and who the hell doesn't—'

'Breathe, Tony,' Natasha cut in. 'How high is his temperature?'

'I told you, JARVIS is being upgraded so he can't scan Bruce's temperature. He just feels too damn hot.'

It must have been bad for Tony not to play on the double entendre.

'Use a thermometer, Tony.'

'Thermometer?'

She rolled her eyes to the heavens and before she even knew what she was doing, she found herself saying, 'Hold tight. We're coming over.'

'Over where?' Clint asked from his place on the bunk. They were currently hunkered down in one of many numerous buildings SHIELD used as safe houses across the city.

'Stark's,' she simply said.

Clint, calm, always together, wonderful, never-questioning Clint, simply cancelled the Quinjet coming for them, postponed debriefing with their new handler until tomorrow afternoon and grabbed the keys of the car that was also SHIELD issued.

Tony actually met them in the lobby. Natasha hadn't seen the genius look so drained since the palladium poisoning incident.

'He's not really talking,' he murmured, running his hands continually through his wild hair as he led them into his penthouse that didn't look much different from the common lounge area, except for a better view, a veranda and dismantling catwalk for the Iron Man armour.

Natasha immediately zeroed in on the lump on the couch. There were about four blankets piled on the figure, just a tuft of curls peeking out the top of the material.

'I heard that you had to break a fever,' Tony said by way of explanation.

'Not by suffocating them,' she retorted, marching across the room and taking away three of the four blankets then pulled the one down further.

Clint let out a whistle. 'Damn, he doesn't look too good.'

Beside him, Tony paled considerably.

Natasha ignored them both for the moment to consider the man lying on the couch.

Bruce's usually tanned skin was a sickly white. His eyes, just open in slits, were unfocused while his breathing wasn't the deep, calm breaths he always gave. He had the shakes slightly and when Natasha placed a hand on his forehead, the heat made her feel uncomfortable before he jerked out from underneath her touch. She blinked at that, but he made no further movement so she simply put it down to a reflex.

She leaned back on her haunches, furrow creasing her forehead slightly. 'How long has he been sick?'

Tony shrugged, fingers clicking, snapping and clapping in irritation. 'I only found out about six hours ago. He was hiding it from me before then so I don't know? Few days maybe?'

He was beyond aggravated, obviously annoyed and upset that Bruce had hidden his sickness and he hadn't picked up on it before then.

Natasha cast a blank look over her shoulder. 'Please tell me the irony has hit you of this situation?'

Tony raised an eyebrow. 'I don't follow.'

Clint coughed into his hand before saying, 'Palladium poisoning ring a bell to you?'

The engineer crossed his arms over his chest, instantly defensive. 'The two situations have nothing in common.'

'I agree,' Natasha said, standing. 'Bruce actually has a chance of fighting a cold off by himself. You, on the other hand, were actually dying.'

'Well, don't I feel like the scolded child,' Tony sneered, tapping his wrist with his index finger to emphasise his insult, but there was that thread of uncertainty cracking his strong veneer. 'Do you think you could actually stick to the problem at hand here?'

Natasha's eyes narrowed, but she gave a nod as Bruce coughed pitifully, none the wiser that there were three Avengers around him. 'Where's your first aid kit?'

After gathering what she needed, the assassin approached Bruce with a thermometer, Clint standing by her side while Tony hovered on the outskirts, looking like he wanted to help, but simply didn't know how. Natasha was already running through her head what she would need to do once she found out his temperature. However, when she gently touched Bruce's cheek to manoeuvre his mouth to take the thermometer, it all went to hell.

Bruce jerked away viciously, gasping like he was suffocating. His eyes snapped open, flecks of green already visible.

'No!' he cried, voice hoarse but it was obvious he was trying to yell. 'Get back!'

Natasha immediately jumped out of his range, hands up, palms out. 'Bruce,' she called softly. 'Bruce, it's me, Natasha. You're sick. I'm just trying to help you.'

'Doc, we're all friends here,' Clint joined in, crouching down to make himself less of a threat.

The assassin copied her partner, keeping up a string of nonsensical words to try to calm the physicist, but he wouldn't have it. He managed to push himself into the corner of the couch, too weak to flee, but he kept his hands up, trying to ward off an attacker.

'Stay back,' he hissed, eyes flashing an anxious green before reverting back to their regular honeyed brown, strained with fear and sadness. 'There's nothing wrong with me. I don't want it, I don't want it.'

'Bruce, you're sick,' Natasha tried to keep her voice soothing, but she barely refrained from the shiver working up her back at seeing the doctor this close to 'Hulking out'.

Her words got to him and he turned unfocused eyes on to her. A lump formed in her throat when she saw the betrayal and hurt in his face. He curled into himself, hands still up, shaking uncontrollably.

'There's nothing wrong with me,' he now whispered and her stomach twisted at the absolute brokenness of his tone, no musical lilt in it whatsoever. 'Please, there isn't, there isn't.' He repeatedly shook his head, sweaty curls sticking to his forehead.

Beside her, Clint frowned. 'What are you talking about, Doc? You're just a bit—'

'Stop saying that to him!'

Both spies turned around to see that Tony had come closer, hands clenching and unclenching at his side. At their confused looks, he continued on in a strained voice, 'He thinks you're saying there's something wrong with him, not that he's sick with a cold.' Tony patted his chest to emphasise his point. 'With _him_.'

Natasha's expression darkened as did Clint's as he looked away, grey eyes troubled. After a few tense moments, as Bruce gasped pitifully in the corner, now and then murmuring, 'Please', causing Natasha's fingers to dig further and further into her palms, Clint spoke in a low, soft voice.

'He'd know we'd never say that to him now though, wouldn't he?'

'He doesn't recognise you,' Tony muttered back, shifting from side to side, but still didn't say either way.

Natasha paused. She glanced at the figure on the couch then at the fidgety engineer. 'But he recognised you,' she whispered, realisation dawning on her face. The sickness eased in her stomach as she concentrated on what she actually could do to help the distraught scientist.

Tony turned to her, looking down to where she was crouched, one eyebrow raised in question. At her intense, scrutinising gaze, he blinked. 'What?'

She stood up, shoving the thermometer at him. 'He recognised you for you to get him here and under all those blankets.'

'He wasn't that far gone then,' Tony protested, backing away from the thermometer like it would hurt him.

She pursued him. 'You're the one he's most familiar with. If he's going to let anyone close, it will be you.'

Tony shook his head, but this time, didn't come up with a counter argument. When he continued to evade her handing him the medical instrument, she growled. 'Tony, he needs help. Do you want to see what happens if we try to get a doctor near him?'

That made Tony pause. 'He doesn't like doctors,' he mumbled, more to himself than to her, but she latched on to it all the same.

'So help him.' She held out the object to him again.

The engineer shuffled on the spot, eyeing her anxiously before turning his gaze to the floor.

'I'm kind of … not the best … in,' here, he shrugged, looking everywhere but her, 'you know … _delicate_ procedures.'

There was something a lot deeper to his words and her mind clicked back to what could make Tony doubt himself so much when it came to sickness. She didn't know of a specific incident, even when thinking through his file, but she had a smidgeon of an idea.

'Tony,' Clint called, having remained silent up until now.

The genius looked up, something akin to surprise flashing across his face at having been addressed by his first name by the archer.

Clint carried on, voice not near as gruff as it usually was when he talked to the billionaire. 'You've made circuit boards. I'm sure you've got steady enough hands to do this.'

Tony stiffened. 'Bruce isn't a project,' he growled, and Natasha had to admire the amount of viciousness the engineer used.

Clint held his hands up in a placating gesture. 'Not at all what I meant,' he said, face open and honest, not guarded the way he tended to be around people he didn't know extremely well. 'All I'm saying is that you _do_ know how to be delicate.'

Tony's eyebrows furrowed, but more in thought then anger. Natasha took a step back, feeling the inner struggle and knowing he needed a few moments to think.

He studied his shoes for a moment then glanced back at his science buddy still curled on the couch.

Bruce looked even worse now after his frantic scramble. His head hung low, hands too weak to still be held up so they hung limply at his sides as he coughed pitifully, whole body rattling.

'Please,' he murmured, one last time.

That did it for Tony.

'Put the God damn hell thermometer on the God damn hell table so I can take his God damn hell temperature.'

Natasha couldn't help but smirk as she did what she was told. 'Taking the Lord's name in vain there, Stark,' she said, causing Clint to chuckle, though it sounded strained.

'Shut it, all of you,' Tony snapped. He snatched up the thermometer and began making his way to Bruce, muttering profanities under his breath the whole way.

When he got closer, he stopped, studying the sick man once again. Natasha witnessed how his stance loosened and he crouched a bit, making himself look non-threatening.

'Hey there, bud.'

There was that tone again, so gentle, soft and … loving. Completely unlike how Tony talked at all.

Bruce didn't move. But he also didn't react violently.

Tony bit his lip and glanced back at Clint, surprisingly enough.

The archer gave an encouraging smile, giving a 'Go on' gesture with his hand.

Taking a deep breath, steeling himself, he edged closer again, only about three feet away from Bruce.

'Can you hear me, big man?' At the nickname, Bruce's head perked up a bit, eyes blearily glaring around the room.

Tony, spurred on by the reaction, took a step closer. 'You've got a fever so I'm just going to do this the old-fashioned way and take your temperature, all right? JARVIS is down at the moment. I'm inputting those codes we worked on together, remember? Pepper yelled at us for the all-nighter, but it was worth it, wasn't it, bud?'

By now, Tony was right next to the couch, crouched all the way down and looking up at Bruce with one of the softest, most concerned expressions Natasha had ever seen on his face. As he talked, Bruce had rested the side of his head on his knees, eyes open, but not so panicked. In fact, they flickered about, searching for the source.

Tony, motions slow and deliberate, moved a calloused hand out and laid it next to Bruce's sock-clad feet, close enough for Bruce to feel the presence, but not actually touching him.

The physicist didn't flinch.

'Bruce?' Tony tried again to get a response. 'Think you can chat back to me, bud? I know I'm usually the one that never stops talking, but I feel like listening to you for a bit, hey?' Tony did a forced laugh, one Natasha recognised from any media reel of him. 'I know right? You must be thinking that I'm the one with the fever, but surprisingly no.'

Bruce's honeyed eyes came a bit more into focus and they landed in Tony's vicinity.

The engineer grimaced sympathetically. 'I know you want to be left alone, bud, but I can't do that.'

For a few tense moments, there was nothing. Then, there was a tiny pull at the corner of the sick man's lips.

'Tony,' he slurred softly.

This time, the billionaire's face lit up with a genuine smile, reaching out to place a gentle hand around Bruce's left ankle. 'I'm right here, bud.'

A shiver wracked the smaller man's body and his eyes shut for a moment before zeroing in on Tony again.

'Thought you left,' he murmured and even though it seemed impossible, closed in more on himself.

'Hey,' Tony shook his leg in a friendly gesture, 'do you really think you can get rid of me that easily?'

Bruce's smile was more prominent this time as he gazed dependently at the billionaire. 'Not to this date, no.'

'There's that sarcasm I know and love,' Tony shot back, but the tenseness had completely gone from his back and shoulders.

Beside Natasha, Clint did a fist pump before grinning widely at her. She returned his smile with a smaller one, unable to completely shake the sickness that had come from Bruce's reaction to them.

Oblivious to them for the moment, Tony held up the thermometer so it was in Bruce's line of sight. 'Let me play doctor for a while?'

Bruce snorted then promptly grimaced, eyes glazing over again. 'Do you even know … how?' he gasped though he still smiled when Tony's grip on his leg almost imperceptibly tightened.

Tony comically tapped his chin with the object before breaking out in a grin. 'Tell you what, how about I make you a deal?'

'Tony Stark, compromising?' Clint muttered, nudging her shoulder, getting a wider grin from her which had obviously been his objective. 'Now I know the world is ending.'

The genius tossed a dirty look over his shoulder before flicking his head dramatically away, causing Bruce's shoulders to weakly shake.

'As I was _saying_ ,' he carried on pointedly, 'how about I leave the doctoring to Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum over there,' Tony indicated to each of them with his head, making sure to designate Clint as Tweedle-Dum, Bruce's eyes dully following his movements, 'and I just chill with you?'

When Bruce glimpsed over them, there still wasn't recognition there but when he focused on Tony again, there was so much trust there for the engineer, something she never thought could be possible with Bruce.

'You'll … stay?' He hesitantly broached, a small blush creeping up his neck.

Tony's smirk softened into a kind smile, showing off why Pepper saw what she did in him. He simply stood, edging his way in between the corner of the couch and Bruce, kicking his legs on to the cushions. He opened his arm out, slowly this time, letting Bruce see his movements so he could object to them if he wanted to.

When the physicist simply watched him, making no attempt to do anything, Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

That appeared to do it for Bruce. He curled into Tony, burying his face into his chest like a child, shuddering and coughing miserably. Natasha was sure there were a few sniffles there too. The poor guy was obviously physically and emotionally exhausted from however long he'd been fighting this by himself. It was obvious he had suffered from some pretty bad hallucinations as well and it had gotten too much for him. This was Bruce, all layers broken open to expose a very vulnerable man at the moment.

What had he done when he'd been on the run by himself, absolutely no one to turn to?

That thought was what made her fingernails finally cut into the palm of her left hand. Beside her, Clint stiffened. One look at his concerned grey eyes said that he was worried that Tony was going to reject Bruce for getting too much into his personal space. Tony Stark designated what was and wasn't going to happen with touching.

'Stark,' he muttered warningly, promising harm if the billionaire so much as thought of pushing Bruce away.

However, Tony didn't hear him as the genius simply grabbed the blanket Bruce had lost in his frantic dash with his free hand. Laying it carefully over the shivering physicist, he then wrapped his right hand around Bruce as well, pulling the smaller man tighter to his chest.

'It's okay, big man,' he murmured, playfully jostling him, but not too roughly. 'I've got ya. Iron Man's on the job so you know, no worries, no cares and all that jazz.'

Bruce chuckled weakly against his chest, face totally hidden. It didn't stop Tony's face from lighting up with happy disbelief that he had actually managed to comfort the skittish scientist.

'Youse going to do your jobs or just stand there _trying_ to look pretty?' He asked with no real heat behind his insult. He just looked a little dazed that he was succeeding in helping Bruce.

Clint rolled his eyes, but gave the billionaire a grateful, soft smile. By Tony's look of confusion, he obviously couldn't interpret why it was given to him.

The archer simply pushed on, pointing between him and Natasha. 'Me or you?'

'Natasha.'

She blinked at Tony.

He just simply shrugged, busying himself with pulling the blanket tighter around Bruce's shoulders. 'He'll feel better with you being female and all,' he said, somewhat gruffly, trying to get off the subject quickly.

The assassin simply nodded once, letting the mask of determination slip into place to hide the horror she felt at what Tony was trying his best _not_ to imply. She simply stepped forward, grabbing the thermometer from where Tony had discarded it on the table.

As she advanced, Tony gently grabbed Bruce's chin. 'Come on, bud, time to take your temperature,' he soothed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Clint quickly schooled his expression to hide the fond grin at the usually prickly genius basically cooing at the usually touch-averted physicist, who was clinging on to Tony like the engineer was his lifeline.

Bruce obeyed, albeit reluctantly. His honeyed eyes flickered over her, still no recognition in them, and he looked so lost and vulnerable that something in her chest clenched. She pushed on though.

'Hey, Doc,' she said, surprising herself with the gentleness in her tone. From the look on Tony, he was too. Taking a deep breathe, she tuned out everything, but Bruce, concentrating on his breathing, no longer rapid, but it was speeding up at her voice. 'I'm just going to put the thermometer in your mouth and you hold it under your tongue. Okay?'

Bruce didn't respond, but thankfully, he didn't pull away when she placed the instrument in his mouth, gently manoeuvring it underneath his tongue. He was semi-coherent, the engineer beside him being the only anchor he was clinging on to then taking everything else in his stride. To him, if Tony was allowing it to happen, it must be all right.

After what felt like ages, the thermometer beeped. Natasha deftly slipped it out of Bruce's mouth. He promptly slumped back into Tony and the engineer unconsciously tightened his grip around the smaller man's shoulders.

She frowned. 'It's 103 degrees,' she murmured.

Clint stiffened. 'We can't take him to a hospital. I mean, look at him.'

At the mention of hospital, Bruce whimpered. Tony absently brushed his curls back from his sweaty forehead.

Natasha considered all her options and came to a plan. It was an automatic mode for her, assess everything then come to the best conclusion. She felt more in her element.

'We'll work on him for forty-five minutes. If it shows no signs of letting up, we'll have to look at bringing someone else in.'

Clint nodded his approval. Tony frowned, arms tightening around Bruce, but for once, kept quiet.

They wasted no time after that, getting Advil for Bruce to take. Under Tony's gentle coaxing, he managed to finish the cup of water with it, but wouldn't take any more, blinking blearily when the water was waved under his nose. Thankfully, his shivers had eased.

Natasha had the sneaking suspicion that had more to do with fear than the fever, but didn't voice it.

Clint got a lukewarm cloth, which he handed to Natasha. His expression was grim with understanding that he couldn't come closer to Bruce, but she could still see the frustration in how he moved that he could only help from a distance.

She took the cloth, briefly squeezing his wrist. He nodded back, not quite meeting her eyes.

Natasha didn't have time to concentrate on him though, going back to Bruce. When she began to pat down his forehead with the damp cloth, he sighed softly. His eyelids flickered open after being shut for a good five minutes. They were more focused than before.

'Na … tasha?' he murmured.

She froze, looking down at him.

There was no fear whatsoever in his countenance. Instead, he looked quite content, although confused, head resting just next to the arc reactor, peering up at her through his curls that somehow kept working their way back onto his face.

'Hey, Doc,' she tried for nonchalance and had no idea whether she made it or not. Truthfully, the whole thing felt beyond awkward. Somehow, the act of sponging down his face felt extremely intimate and he had caught her in the act, but she pushed on anyway. 'You look like you've been better.'

Surprisingly, it was his responding blush that made her feel at ease. This was their dynamic. She caused him to stumble through actions awkwardly with a few words while she chilled back, enjoying getting to know all aspects of his personality that he kept shyly or unwittingly revealing to her.

She grinned. 'Looking a little hot under the collar there, Doc.'

He tried to glare at her, but the redness along his cheeks reduced the severity of it. Weakly burrowing into Tony's chest, causing the engineer to chuckle, he muttered, 'Go 'way.'

'No can do,' she responded. 'Believe it or not, Stark actually invited us here.'

'Brief insanity on my part,' Tony chucked in, soothingly rubbing Bruce's shoulders.

There were a few moments of silence before he peeked up, honeyed colours just visible. 'Us?' he slurred, eyelids already fluttering.

'You don't think I'd leave you at the mercy of Natasha and Stark's nursing skills, do you, Doc?' Clint snorted, slowly coming closer.

Bruce was already halfway gone, eyes once again glazed, but his soft, happy response of, 'Hey, Clint,' caused all previous tenseness to leave the archer.

Without asking, he took the cloth from Natasha and began dabbing it along the physicist's forehead.

'You're getting water on me,' Tony grumbled, aiming a listless kick at the archer's knee, which he easily dodged.

'You're so whiny,' Clint marvelled, not pausing in his gentle ministrations of the doctor.

Natasha took a seat to the left of Bruce, recognising Clint's need to care for a while. She was content to rest for a bit. Absently, before she realised what she was doing, she trailed her fingers along Bruce's back, where the blanket had shifted down a bit. She jerked her fingers back, shocked at her own casualness with which she performed the action. As though it was totally normal.

Tony was oblivious to what she'd done, murmuring platitudes to Bruce, who had whimpered softly when Clint ran the cloth down his neck. She thought Clint had seen it though.

'He needs his shirt changed,' she said by way of explanation, trying to convey she had just been checking if his clothing was sweat-soaked or not.

The archer simply nodded and she wasn't sure if he realised what she did or not.

'Where can I get something for him?' He directed his question to the engineer.

Tony jerked a thumb to the hallway that ran along parallel to the lounge area and kitchen. 'Just grab something from my room. First door to your right.' At Clint's fond smirk and raised eyebrow, he snapped, 'What? You want to go down to Bruce's floor and grab some of his thrift-shop clothes?'

Clint chuckled, holding up his hands. 'All right, all right, no need to pop a blood vessel.' All the same, he sent a knowing, obnoxious wink before sauntering off down the hallway.

Tony glared sourly after him then looked at her. 'Do you know how to wipe that damn smirk off his face?' At Natasha's amused nod, his eyes glittered. 'Can you show me?'

Natasha gave a sideways grin. 'Don't worry, Stark. You still have the title of Most Annoyingly Smug Grin.'

He scowled at her, but she swore there was something akin to proudness in his aura as he settled back into the couch, making sure Bruce was still settled comfily against his chest.

Clint returned, holding out a large shirt so it was displayed to the three on the couch. It was a picture of Iron Man doing Tony's patented peace sign with the caption _No Need to Fear when Iron Man is Here_.

'Really, Stark?'

'Hey, you're the one who picked it,' Tony grinned back, smirk as insouciantly irritating as ever.

'It was in _your_ wardrobe.'

'I happen to appreciate great works of art. Just ask Pepper.'

'Boys,' Natasha interrupted before Clint could retort, 'do you think you could dress Bruce _before_ he gets the chills again?'

Clint sent her a glare, which she responded with a smile showing all her teeth. Tony just looked exceptionally smug that he got the last say.

The archer rolled his eyes, but he was soon grinning as well. He came forward and moved the blanket off Bruce. Slipping the limp man's shirt off, he put Bruce in the Iron Man one with such ease and gentility that only came with practice, which he'd had with both Cooper and Lila. Tony looked vaguely impressed at Clint's skills, but didn't comment.

He then pulled the blanket around Bruce's shoulders again, allowing his hands to linger for a little longer, affectionately clasping the smaller man's arms before stepping back. Tony's eyes were quick and appraising, noticing everything. As he watched Clint take a few steps back, it was obvious the archer had gone up a few notches in the engineer's books.

Natasha then moved forward with the thermometer again. 'All right, Doc. Time to open up again.'

Bruce was more out of it this time, honeyed colours of his irises just able to be glimpsed through the slits his eyelids made. Tony actually physically turned his head, allowing Natasha to slip the thermometer in his mouth, just under his tongue. Bruce coughed a bit, trying to pull away, but Tony gently ran his fingers through his hair.

'It's all right, Brucie. You're doing great, big man,' he murmured, briefly leaning his bearded cheek on Bruce's head. 'Just a little bit longer and it will all be over.'

Natasha and Clint traded tiny grins with each other at the picture the two painted as Bruce settled, allowing Tony to do whatever he deemed necessary.

The engineer caught the look.

'What?' he asked defensively.

'Oh, nothing,' Clint said innocently as Natasha took the beeping thermometer. 'Can I just be the first to say, "Awww"?'

'I hope Sauron takes you out, Legolas,' Tony spat darkly, but he still didn't push Bruce away as the smaller man curled into him with a contented, little sigh now that he was free from the medical instrument.

Natasha smiled as she studied the reading. 'It's 100.2.'

Clint heaved a deep breath. 'Well done, team … and Tony.'

The assassin snorted, but was surprised when no retort was forthcoming from the witty billionaire. She glanced up from her crouched position in front of Bruce.

Tony hadn't looked so relaxed all night and she could physically see his body relax into the couch. He'd put up a good front, but it was obvious the worry he'd been in over Bruce. His chestnut-coloured eyes were soft with relief and happiness as he studied the man currently slumped into him, all trust placed in the engineer's hands. It was very similar to the picture of when Tony had fallen asleep on Bruce, but the difference here was that it had been up to Tony to make Bruce better, to make it all okay. Also, in this case, Bruce had been completely and utterly vulnerable, totally dependent on Tony to fix him.

Natasha knew that didn't only blow her away, but probably everybody else in the room as well.

When Tony met Natasha's eyes, his expression was uncharacteristically soft and his smile was small, but genuine, so unlike his usual brash or loud ways of portraying feelings.

'Thank you both,' he said, true gratefulness lacing his words as he once again tightened his grip on Bruce, whether consciously or unconsciously, she didn't know.

'You're welcome, Tony,' Clint said softly, once again slipping into the use of the billionaire's first name. If Tony noticed, he didn't show it.

Natasha returned Tony's words with one of her genuine, small smiles. She gave a small nod, suddenly finding she didn't trust herself to talk around the tightness in her throat as she took in the utter vulnerability of the sick man still breathing a little unsteady. He looked so small and just a little bit adorable with the way he was curled into Tony, hair smoothed back from his eyes, hand fisted near his chin, and face completely at ease with where he was, no fear whatsoever as his mouth hung a little bit open. Not to mention the oversized Iron Man shirt which made him look even smaller. Probably after so long in his life, he felt protected. By Tony of all people. Judging by the unbelievable expression on Tony, he realised it too.

When Clint subtly took out his phone and looked like he was checking messages, holding it up like he couldn't read the words well, Natasha knew exactly what he was doing. Hawkeye could read anything in any light.

She and Clint took turns then, Natasha now doing the nursing with Tony convincing Bruce to do whatever they needed to do. Tony managed to coax Bruce into having another glass of water, the poor man grimacing the whole time. His throat must have hurt, but he was still too out of it to give him something like a hot cup of tea to ease the ache. Good thing he didn't sound too congested, but he was breathing through his mouth anyway.

Clint got the brainwave to use Vapour-Rub, pointing out that if he could breathe through his nose, it would make his throat feel a lot better and if it was rubbed on his neck, it would be all the better again.

Tony's nose screwed up the instant the muscular archer pried the lid of the Vapour-Rub container, obviously not having fond memories of what the scent brought. Natasha didn't feel like suppressing the smirk that appeared on her red lips at the thought of a young Tony Stark trying to squirm and wheedle his way out of being rubbed down with the strong-smelling ointment.

The billionaire craned his neck as far away as possible as Clint, in contrast with his strong build, gently rubbed Bruce's neck down with the Vapour-Rub. The physicist slowly blinked his eyes open, a confused frown making its way on to his face as he tried to glance down.

'Easy, Doc, I got ya,' Clint grinned reassuringly at him. 'Just putting some Vapour-Rub on you, all right?'

The frown deepened slightly and Bruce glanced questioningly up at Tony. At the engineer's nod accompanied with a bewildered but happy grin, Bruce gave a hesitant nod, unwittingly copying Tony.

Clint smiled disarmingly at him and rubbed the ointment into his neck, but didn't push it to do his chest, obviously seeing he was close to scaring Bruce again if he wasn't careful.

'All done,' the archer declared kindly, pushing himself out of his crouching position.

Bruce's eyes followed him, much sharper than before. He witnessed, as quick as lightning, Clint planting a swab of the ointment on Tony's nose.

'BARTON!' Tony practically screeched, causing Clint to cackle and Natasha to chuckle.

He rubbed frantically at his nose with his right hand like it was burning him, eyes comically wide, nose flaring in and out at an impressive rate as he hacked over-exaggeratedly, causing Bruce to slip down on his chest. In turn, Bruce blinked up at him in confusion, not at all frightened by the billionaire's crazy movements.

A warmth spread through Natasha's chest and chased away the sickness in her stomach as she realised he was content in the knowledge that Tony wouldn't hurt him … _ever_.

She quirked her lips fondly as Tony chucked a pillow at Clint, but all the while, wouldn't remove his left arm from around Bruce, securing the smaller man to his chest so no matter how much he jerked, Bruce wouldn't be completely dislodged.

Clint easily dodged Tony's projectile, jumping over the back of the couch. Grin absolutely wicked, he came up to the corner, in no danger of Tony's kicking legs.

'Barton, don't you dare,' his right arm flailed wildly but it did nothing to stop the spy advancing, 'don't you dare, don't you … damn hell you, Barton!' Tony looked like he was about to rip his own nose off as he wheezed, trying not to breathe in the scent as Clint managed to get more on his nostrils. 'You suck, you know that?'

The soft, throaty chuckling caused both feuding men to glance down at Bruce. His honeyed eyes were still a bit glazed, but the happiness was evident now, all previous fear gone like a horrible nightmare finally fading away.

Clint backed up with a triumphant smile, extremely proud of himself to get a laugh out of Bruce.

Tony sulkily rubbed his sleeve along his nose, glaring after the archer from where he pressed himself deep into the cushions to try to get away from Clint, left hand absently ruffling Bruce's hair. The scientist still lay with his head pressed against Tony's chest but he wasn't curled up into such a tight ball any more.

'I'm still not talking to you,' Tony spat.

'I can live with that,' Clint retorted, going to the kitchen to wash his hands.

'You'll be lucky to live,' Tony growled then absently grumbled more to himself than anyone else, 'Jarvis used to put it there all the time too.'

Natasha blinked at that. Tony never gave anything away about his childhood. She wondered what he'd been like as a little kid. She couldn't imagine he never would have his cheekiness. He'd probably run the fabled Edwin Jarvis ragged, getting into as many things as his inquisitive mind could. Would have Bruce been much the same if—

She refused to go down that rabbit hole and got up from where she had been sitting cross-legged on the floor, going around the back of the couch. Not wanting to stop herself and deciding to go against every instinct that had been trained into her for so much of her life, she allowed her fingers to trail through first Tony's wild mop of hair then Bruce's still sweaty, salt and pepper curls. Tony jerked probably more than when Clint went at him with the Vapour-Rub while Bruce stiffened.

She could feel both their wide eyes on her back as she walked casually to the bathroom, the shadows hiding her smile as she heard Tony say, 'I swear, she's going to murder us in our sleep. Don't worry, Brucie, I'll take first watch,' then Bruce's exhausted but hopelessly amused reply of, 'Whatever you say, Tones. Whatever you say.'

The rest of the night was slow. Bruce fell into a fairly restful sleep at around midnight, only interrupted by a cough that didn't rattle so much, the Advil and Vapour-Rub already doing their jobs. Throughout the hours, he'd shifted so he was now lying along the length of the lounge with Tony, body flush against the billionaire's side as Tony sat propped up against the back of the couch. Bruce's face was nuzzled just next to the arc reactor, which didn't appear to bother the engineer in the slightest, while his arms were tucked to his chest. The blanket was draped over both of them and Tony had tucked it up tight around Bruce's chin when he thought Clint and Natasha weren't looking. His arm was still slung around Bruce's shoulders.

Clint busied himself with now and then pressing the cloth to Bruce's forehead to refresh him from sweat and discreetly taking photos of the two scientists until he finally fell asleep in the armchair Steve usually occupied at a bit past two in the morning.

Natasha disappeared around the corner to the elevators so she could place a call to SHIELD to say they wouldn't be debriefing for a couple of days. The person on the other end didn't question it at all, simply saying she would pass on the message to Nick Fury.

When she began to come around the corner again, she heard Tony's distinctive tones filling the room, soft and lulling. Creeping closer, she peered into the lounge area of the penthouse.

'Repeat after me mentally: "I will never hide anything like this from Tony again". Not too hard, is it, Brucie? You know, this better all be seeping in like when you sleep with a history book under your pillow and all the knowledge enters your brain while you sleep. Otherwise, I'm going to feel like a complete idiot … well, no, not really, I'm too smart to ever feel stupid.'

Natasha watched as Tony talked on, right hand moving this way and that. Bruce was fast asleep on his chest, oblivious to Tony's soliloquy. The assassin was reminded again why she was grateful that the billionaire had decided to become a hero rather than villain. He would have been able to monologue them all to death.

Dear God, the monologues.

Tony clicked his tongue, bringing her attention back to him. He was glancing around the room, eyes still alive and quick despite it now going on three in in the morning. Clint appeared out of it in the armchair, but Natasha had her suspicions.

'Want to hear a secret, big man? First time I've ever taken care of anyone sick. Yep, I know, I'm so brilliant at it that it's hard to believe. It's true though. Remind me to take JARVIS off mute, will you? If you actually do, I'm going to _freak_ out.'

She blinked at the new information. A little part, deep down inside of her, knew that Tony was too scared to deal with a sick Bruce by himself, terrified he was going to do it wrong. It was something else entirely though when it was laid out like that.

'You're lucky Pepper didn't pick up,' Tony continued on, oblivious to his audience in the shadows, content in the knowledge that no one could hear him. 'She's got a bit of a thing now when someone is sick that she thinks they're dying. Have no idea where _that_ phobia came into play. She's got a whole kind of aggressive nursing thing going on. I think it's sexy as hell, but I don't think it would really fly with you. Or maybe it's just me she's all Godzilla over. If so, that's prejudice. Remind me to confront her on that too, Brucie.'

Natasha allowed the gentle smile on to her lips as she watched the engineer talk to Bruce, now and then glancing down at the sleeping man before continuing on in another tangent.

'Do you think I should shave? Nah, you're right, it's my trademark. Every hero needs a trademark. What do you think the other guys' trademarks are?' Tony tapped his chin again, comically pursing his lips. 'Thor: definitely the hammer. Barton would be his bow and arrow, but that could be confused for Robin Hood. Ah, what's the diff' though, hey? Rogers is just glowing patriotism. He embodies it. Sickening really. Romanov is a bit harder, hey, big man? Hmm … I'm going with the glare … no, wait, Pepper death-glares her out of the park.'

Natasha smirked, leaning on the doorway, head resting on her hand, other on her hip.

'I'd say the cat-suit, but I don't want her to gradually poison me, you know?'

She nodded along with his reasoning.

'Oh, oh, I've got it! Totally that whole sideways smirk thing!'

The assassin blinked at that. Tony … thought her smile was something special?

'I'd ask you, Grinchy, but I see how well you talk to Red. We need to get you some game. Just do everything opposite to Rogers, all right? You'll be reeling in the ladies in no time.'

She bit her lip, the thought of Bruce surrounded with women beyond entertaining. The poor guy would pass out … or 'Hulk' out.

'Now, what about you, Green Party ambassador?' Here, Tony glanced down at the slumbering physicist. A fond smile lit up his face, skin crinkling around his eyes, showing off his handsomeness. 'You know, normally, I think you just scream the whole Greenie card, but now, you kind of look like a rumpled kitten. A rumpled kitten that can turn into an angry, green lion. Did you know cat similes work great for you? Ooh, funny cat videos! I've got to show Capsicle. Might get him less scared of computers. What do you think, Brucie? Another great idea?'

In response, Bruce gave a soft whimper in his sleep.

Tony paused, looking around the room. Natasha pressed further back into the shadows, but she didn't have to worry. He was satisfied she was still on the phone. The engineer glanced at Clint then did one more visible sweep of the room, causing Natasha to raise an eyebrow in amusement.

Apparently satisfied he wasn't being watched, he turned his head and pressed a gentle kiss in Bruce's curls.

It was probably one of the most sickly, saccharine things Natasha had ever witnessed. And it was adorable and just a little heart-melting.

Well, to other people. Not to her. Even if she felt an over-whelming urge just to go, 'Awwww'.

'It's all right, Bruce,' Tony was murmuring to the sick scientist, all joking gone from his tone. 'I've got you. I promise.'

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The next chapter is going to follow directly after Bruce falling sick, showing some of the aftermath and the other Avengers will be back, responding to all of Tony's calls lol. Let me know what you think in the comments sections. It would make one very happy writer lol.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi y'all!

Once again, thanks to those you have followed, favourite and commented :D. This update has taken me longer than usual, but once again, it is pretty huge. As I said, this story is running away from me and there is so much fluff in this chapter. But, I couldn't resist giving sick Bruce a lot of love :D.

Also, the beginning is in Clint's POV! I tortured the poor guy so he probably won't want to be the centre again lol. The conversation between Clint, Natasha, Steve and Thor is inspired off a scene in Modern Family where an extremely frustrating phone call takes place.

I have also realised I haven't done any disclaimers thus far so for those of you wondering, I own nothing Avengers related or any movies referenced to within the story.

Once again, please let me know what you think in the comments :). I love to hear your thoughts :).

Anyway, on with the story! This takes place directly after where the last chapter finishes.

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Clint grumbled under his breath as a phone vibrated on the floor beside him.

'Tasha,' he moaned. He knew it was hers because his was off at the moment. 'Get your damn phone.'

No response was forthcoming.

Damn that woman. She'd put it there on purpose then left so he would get the calls she didn't feel like handling. Well, she could just deal with the voicemail because he wasn't getting it. Nope, nope, not this time.

In the corner of the couch, Bruce began to make soft, sleepy noises, indicating the vibrating was waking him up.

Well played, Romanov. Well played.

Snatching up the phone, he stalked out of the lounge room, only years of training keeping him from staggering from leftover sleepiness. The phone read it was 4:27 am. What the hell?

'What?' he grumbled, finally answering the phone when he was far enough away from the two sleeping scientists.

'Clint?'

He blinked, taken aback. 'Pepper?'

'Oh, thank God, I haven't been able to get on to anyone! I just finished with my meetings and found twenty-seven missed calls from Tony. Is he all right? I haven't been able to get on to Bruce either or even JARVIS!'

Now, he realised later he latched on to the wrong part of the sentence, but he was blaming sleep, or more, lack thereof on his next sentence. 'Twenty-seven? Seriously?'

'Clint!' Pepper snapped and now he could hear the sheer panic in her voice. 'Is Tony okay? Have you heard from him? Can you check on him in the Tower? It's not like him to cut off any way for me to contact him.'

His brain finally kicked in. 'It's fine, Pepper, he's fine,' he said quickly. 'I'm at the Tower with him now, me and Nat.'

'Really? Are you sure?' At Clint's affirmative, she asked, 'Then can you put him on so I can verbally berate him _before_ I kill him?'

Clint bit his lip, peeking around the corner. As tempting as it was to let the billionaire deal with his irate, scary girlfriend, with the way Tony's head was thrown back on the couch cushions, breathing steadily, Bruce's head tucked under his chin, Clint really didn't have the heart. It would wake Bruce for one. Secondly, Tony would probably blurt out that Bruce was sick and he didn't want Pepper to find that out over the phone. And thirdly … he was too tired to think of another reason.

'Umm, it's four in the morning,' he offered.

'Listen to my voice, Clint. Does it sound like I care?'

'Well … no. Actually … no, not at all.'

'Clint, what is going on? Tony doesn't do things like this unless … unless …' The panic returned full-force, bordering on hysterics.

'No, no, Pepper, it's not like that all,' Clint tried to reassure her, using his left hand in a 'Calm down' gesture even though she couldn't see it. Taking a deep breath, he realised he'd have no choice but to spill. 'Tony was just a bit panicked, that's all. Banner came down with a bit of a cold, that's all, and—'

'Bruce is sick?' The panic wasn't completely gone, but at least she didn't sound like she was going to rip his throat out anymore.

'Um, yeah. Me and Tash came round to make sure he was okay. Tony just freaked a bit, that's all.'

'Oh, the poor thing! Is he okay?'

'Banner or Stark?'

'Bruce, Clint. Bruce.'

'Oh, right, right. Yeah, he's doing okay, he's just—'

'Does he have a fever?'

'Well, he did, but—'

'Oh my gosh, the poor darlin'! Did you give him some Advil?'

'Yeah, we—'

'And a damp cloth. It can't be cold, just lukewarm. Did you do that? You didn't let Tony throw every blanket on the Tower on him, did you? He seems to think that's the way you take care of a fever.'

'No, well, yeah, he did, but—'

'Is Tony handling it okay? He doesn't really do well with taking care of sick people. It upsets him though he won't say so. He hasn't locked himself down in his lab, has he?'

'No, not at all, he's—'

'Because if he has, he won't come out until someone drags him out. He'll be worse with it being Bruce sick. Is Bruce congested? What about Vapour-Rub? Have you used Vapour-Rub?'

Ten minutes later, Clint staggered around the corner, feeling harrowed. Natasha was sitting in the armchair he previously occupied, legs demurely crossed over the arm rest, head cocked to the side, mock concerned expression on her face.

He pointed the phone at her like a weapon. 'You _owe_ me.'

She shrugged noncommittally, smirk on her red lips, unique green eyes now concentrated on his phone. The backlight lit up her face in a blue glow, giving her irises a more turquoise shade.

The stoic lines in her face softened. 'I knew you weren't asleep.'

All annoyance with the assassin faded as he remembered the photos he got last night. He crossed the room in a few strides, balancing on the arm rest so he could see the screen too.

'I got some good ones, huh?' He kept his voice low so as not to disturb his two slumbering teammates.

She nodded, flicking her thumb to make another image come up. Her head turned to the side as she considered it from all angles. Slowly, one of her warm smiles filled her face, the one where it came so gradually that you didn't realise what was happening until it was there, making the usually deadly assassin look beautiful and at peace.

'This one is definitely my favourite,' she said, velvet tones soft as well.

The picture depicted one moment through the night when Tony had been trying to get Bruce to drink some more water. One of Bruce's hands was peeking out from underneath the grey blanket to hold it to his lips, but Tony was holding it with his right hand, tilting the glass so Bruce could drink easier. The physicist's eyes were on the engineer, unusually large as he stared up unsurely, as though questioning whether he was being too much of a burden on his friend. Tony had his head ducked down a bit, reassuring smile gracing his darker features, skin crinkling at his hard grin, eyes fond but still bright with amazement that he was actually doing something right. His left arm was still curled around Bruce's blanketed shoulders, hand embedded in Bruce's curls, obviously in the beginning of ruffling his hair. The beginning of a smile was pulling at the corner of Bruce's mouth.

Natasha gave an emphatic nod. 'Yeah, definitely my favourite.'

Clint leaned over her to swipe his thumb across the screen. 'Did you see the one I got where Stark's drooling?'

They went along for about ten minutes, checking out all the photos Clint managed to surreptitiously take, Natasha smirking at some, muscles going lax at others.

'Are you going to show the rest of the team?'

Clint nodded enthusiastically. 'I'm just going to wait for the perfect moment. You know, when Stark is acting all heartless and annoying so I can really pull the rug out from under him.'

'Of course,' she said in one of those tones he found hard to decipher whether she was actually agreeing with him or making fun of him.

He mentally shrugged. It didn't really matter. Whatever she thought about his plan, he was going to do it anyway.

Before they could go past the photo where Tony was obviously in the middle of telling one of his long-winded stories, Bruce slipping off to sleep on the billionaire's chest, contented smile on his face, the phone screen lit up with an incoming call.

Natasha chucked it at him and he caught it out of reflex. 'I don't call it,' she said over her shoulder, already down the hallway.

'That's not how it works and you know it,' he hissed after her, but she wouldn't have heard him because he couldn't talk too loud in fear of waking the other two. Even if she did, she wouldn't have cared.

Grumbling to himself, he answered the phone, not bothering to move from his perch. If the scientists hadn't woken up with him and Natasha talking, they wouldn't with him talking lowly on the phone.

'Hello?'

'Clint? Is everything all right?'

Suppressing a sigh, he settled for tossing a poisonous look at the billionaire who was currently murmuring about algebra in his sleep. It wasn't near as satisfying as he thought it would be. 'Hey, Steve. Let me guess. You've got some missed calls from Tony?'

'Seventeen! Is … wait a second … no, Thor, I don't know yet. I just was.'

The archer face palmed. 'Thor's with you too?'

The shame was palpable over the phone. 'Well, see, I could tell I'd missed the phone calls, but didn't know how to return them … or call anyone else.'

Clint blinked. 'And you found _Thor_ to help you?'

'He's actually quite good with phones.' The soldier's tone turned slightly defensive, if a little sulky.

Clint was torn between ridiculing Steve for needing the demigod's help or being impressed that Thor _could_ help Steve.

Steve took the silence as an opportunity to redirect the situation. 'What happened? There was no alarm to assemble. Is Tony all right?'

The archer felt like he'd been here before. 'Yeah, he's fine. Bruce is sick so he was just after some help with taking care of him.'

'The good doctor is ill?' Thor's voice suddenly boomed over the phone, causing Clint to pull the speaker away from his ear with a grunt. He must have found out how to put it on loudspeaker. Clint's suspicions were confirmed when Steve asked in an awe-struck voice, 'How did you do that?'

'I simply pressed the symbol of the horn. The alien device speaks louder to me then.'

'That's _amazing_.'

'It's really not,' Clint deadpanned.

'Clint? Wow, you really are louder … wait, Bruce is sick?'

'Is he gravely ill? I could find a way to bring healers from Asgard—'

'No, no,' the spy interrupted, shaking his hand to and fro, again despite that they couldn't see him. 'He's not sick like that.'

'Then why did you say so, Hawk?'

'I _didn't_ , Thor. It's just a cold.'

'The flu?' Steve's fear oozed through the phone. 'That's _deadly_ , Clint!'

'Why didn't you say so, Hawk?'

'I did! Well, no, no … wait, Thor … no, wait, God damn it, I mean, _Steve_ , it's not like that anymore!'

'How do you know for sure?' He asked accusingly. 'You don't take any sickness seriously in this day and age.'

At that moment in time, Steve sounded exactly his ninety years.

'Steve, we take sickness very seriously.'

'So it is serious?'

'No! He's not dying!'

'The great green warrior is _dying_?'

'Thor,' Clint breathed heavily, 'stop turning me on and off loudspeaker. You're missing parts of the conversation.'

'I did no such thing, son of Barton. Your words came out muffled.'

'Then take the damn phone somewhere that it stays in service! Otherwise you'll keep thinking that Banner is dying!'

There was grumbling and shuffling as the blondes presumably moved somewhere with better mobile phone coverage.

'You told them Bruce was dying?' Natasha was suddenly bedside him, ear pressed to the phone to try to hear the conversation on the other side. 'Why would you do that?'

'I didn't tell them Bruce was dying!' Clint whisper-screeched, beginning to feel like an eye twitch was coming on.

'So Bruce is _dying_ and you're just not telling us?' Steve asked dubiously.

'Shall I summon the Asgardian healers, Steven?'

'Wait,' Natasha pressed herself closer, 'is Thor summoning Asgardian healers or Australian sheilas?'

Clint lowered his eyebrows into a withering glare. 'You're being deliberately obtuse. I know you are.'

She simply gave him a smile showing all her teeth.

'What is a sheila, Lady Natasha?'

'Oh, I actually know that reference!'

'You know what?' Clint shoved the phone into Natasha's hand. 'I can't do this again.'

Two hours later, Natasha was sipping on an apple juice while still curled in the armchair. Steve and Thor were sufficiently reassured that Bruce was, in fact, not dying, but that didn't stop them insisting that they were going to come around today as soon as Steve got some SHIELD business sorted. Clint said that Pepper was satisfied (after her thorough interrogation) that Bruce was being properly cared for, but Natasha had her suspicions that the strawberry redhead would come breezing through as soon as she could, stocked up with as much medicine as possible despite being in at the other side of the world at the moment. Pepper was used to being the organiser after being around Tony all these years and the assassin didn't see that habit fading any time soon. It was also pretty obvious that the CEO of Stark Industries had practically adopted the bashful scientist.

'Oh. Hey.'

It was sipping on the glass that made the smile invisible which sprung unbidden to her face at hearing his voice. Swallowing, Natasha turned to see Bruce sitting up, blearily rubbing sleep out of his eyes with a fist.

Was he aware he kept on doing things that were 'Aw' worthy?

Even though she couldn't see him, she knew Clint was around the corner, snapping as many photos as possible to use as blackmail. When she had asked why he would need to blackmail Bruce of all people, he just looked at her with a blank expression and said, 'It's for a rainy day.'

The 'Duh' was implied. She thought he was just a bit sour for having to deal with Pepper, Steve and Thor with little sleep. And Steve and Thor together, without any supervision, was a bit of a nightmarish combination, even for her to deal with.

Natasha quirked her lips and nodded at the doctor, who was looking around the room like he'd just woken up in Oz. 'How're you feeling, Doc?'

He blinked at her for a moment, glancing around the place again with a more scrutinising gaze before his attention turned to Tony. It was going on seven in the morning and the engineer was out for the count, mouth wide open, giving a soft snort. His right hand twitched now and then while his left arm was still spread out from where Bruce had been curled into him.

The assassin saw the moment everything shifted into place for the physicist. His eyes turned impossibly wide. His mouth opened, jaw shaking considerably.

'Oh … h-hell,' he stuttered, looking about frantically, but not really concentrating on anything.

Natasha raised one eyebrow, surprised, but just a tad amused by his shock as he finally pieced the night together. She couldn't resist teasing him a little in hopes of getting a blush or two. Or ten. That would make some good photos. 'You seem a little unsettled there, Doc. Maybe you should chill and cuddle with Stark again. He seems to work well as a teddy bear.'

Bruce didn't retort, but he didn't blush as she thought he would. Instead, he turned his wide-eyed gaze on her. Expressions flitted across his face too quick to identify.

'You,' he whispered almost too softly to hear. 'You … actually …' Unsureness flickered across his visage, hardly able to believe what he was remembering. Then, he suddenly stood, albeit wobbly, hands rubbing frantically over his knuckles. 'Oh, h-hell.'

Natasha frowned as his breath sped up and she sat up a bit. 'Breathe, Bruce,' she said calmly.

He didn't appear to hear her and his hands began fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He stopped dead, glancing down. If he was surprised before, he was downright shell-shocked now as he took in his wear.

She began to rise, slowly so as not to startle him, hoping to be able to get his attention and talk him down from his potential meltdown.

However, she didn't read him right. His breath hitched again as he chuckled, shaking his head from side to side, curls going with the movement. He grabbed both sides of the shirt to spread it out to see it better then looked up at her, still grinning though there now was a blush evident on his low cheekbones.

'Um,' he shifted, beyond embarrassed, but he couldn't help but be amused as well. His honeyed eyes were still dull with sickness, but there was a sparkle there now. 'Do I even want to know?'

She returned his grin with one of her own, feeling a bubble work its way through her stomach and up into her chest whicht would have turned into laughter if she would have let it. 'Probably not, no.'

He glanced down at his shirt again. 'Sooo … when I'm delirious with a cold, Tony dresses me up in his memorabilia like a living doll?'

She worked hard to keep the smile off her face as she said, 'Actually, that was Clint.'

Bruce froze at that. Haltingly, his head rose then even more slowly, his right eyebrow rose, chin dipped low. 'Clint?' He asked disbelievingly.

She nodded seriously. 'Yes.'

'Clint … dressed me up in _Tony's_ memorabilia?'

Natasha pretended to consider his question, head cocked, before nodding again. 'Yes.'

'Huh.' He looked at the shirt before around the room again. 'You're right. I _really_ didn't want to know.'

She grinned at his usual blend of bland sense of humour and sarcasm with just a dash of self-deprecation.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but a bout of coughs had him doubled over, clutching his stomach, one hand over his mouth. His eyes were clenched shut, trying to hide the pain the action was causing him.

Natasha was next to him in a few seconds. Tentatively at first, she raised a hand and placed it on his back.

At the same time, another hand, more calloused and larger than hers, laid on the black material of Bruce's shirt.

She looked up to see Tony, one knee on the couch, while standing on his other leg, on Bruce's other side. He gave a little smirk, but it was a bit sheepish as he began to pat his best friend's back.

She found herself smiling back, for once feeling awkward as well acting as a … caretaker. To Bruce of all people. Unsure what to do with her hand once it was there, she began to rub his back in soothing circles. She was unwillingly surprised at the muscles spasming and rippling across his back.

Tony looked at her hand before glancing up questioningly at her, suddenly appearing very young, eyes still a little glassy from just being woken up. 'Should I be doing that?'

She didn't know what her face indicated at that question. A tightness worked its way into her throat at the usually obnoxiously confident man's nervousness. All because somebody had obviously thought that whatever he did, particularly when someone was sick, he wasn't doing it right.

She nodded once. 'You're doing fine, Tony. Just fine.'

Before the billionaire could respond, Bruce's body suddenly jerked and his cough became a bit more hacking. His eyes blinked open, looking to Tony pleadingly and just a bit fearfully.

Somehow, Tony read it. He quickly wrapped an arm around Bruce's shoulders and began to lead him away. 'Come on, bud, let's get you to the bathroom.' He glanced over his shoulder to Natasha. 'I think he's going to throw up.'

'Ah.' She watched as they disappeared down the hallway. Her hand fell listlessly to her side, feeling a little empty.

Clint appeared by her side and held out his phone to her. 'I've found my favourite,' he said softly.

Glancing sideways at him, she took the phone from his hand. She paused at the photo greeting her.

It showed both her and Tony on either side of Bruce. It was when Tony had obviously asked her if what he was doing was right, eyes wide and watching her intently. What she hadn't seen the first time though was the trust he had for her opinion.

Bruce surprised her. Despite being in the middle of a coughing fit, he'd turned to his left, shock written over his face at seeing her beside her. But also happy. Not tense that she came near, but actually … comforted.

Then there was her. Her red hair was messy from spending most of the night just snoozing in an arm chair. She'd always seen the red as symbolic for the monster she was, but her eyes were bright with … something which contradicted that feeling. However, it was the comforting smile gracing her face which shocked her because she hadn't even realised she'd given it. To Tony of all people as she told him that what he was doing was fine. That he was fine.

She … Natasha … the assassin … the Black Widow … looked normal. Like a sister giving some much-needed comfort to her annoying, but loveable brother while they both tried to help someone who somehow was worming his way into their lives without even trying to do so.

'Nat? You all right?'

Taking a deep breath, she gave him one of her full-on smiles that graced her entire face. 'Yes, Clint. I'm all right.' She glanced back at the photo for a brief moment before returning her gaze him. 'I am definitely all right.'

He smiled back at her, all joking and teasing gone from his features as his grey eyes grew serious. 'I'm glad.'

He leaned into her side briefly, giving her the silent support she needed while she processed the myriad of feelings she was experiencing. It was still too much to accept them though. They were there, but for now, had to remain unacknowledged until she could handle them.

Soon, Tony and Bruce returned. The poor physicist looked extremely pale and Tony's arm around his waist was more as support to stand than comfort. He looked vaguely surprised to still see Clint and Natasha.

Tony looked a little shame-faced if that was possible, the brightness of the morning bringing to light what had happened in the night during the panic and safety of the darkness, where it all didn't appear real. However, he turned it around quickly, bringing on a thousand-watt grin for them. 'You know, there's a place a few blocks that you can actually order in breakfast? Basically anything that passes for breakfast food, you can get it.'

Tony settled Bruce on the couch. The physicist wrapped his arms around his stomach at the mention of food, giving a humorous moan, giving her a grimace with somehow a smile implanted in it too. It was Bruce's way of trying to play down his sickness and make her happy at the same time.

She gave him a pleasant look back, a little amazed that he read she was a bit upset in some way or another. Still though, he wasn't fooling her either way. Despite the Vapour-Rub last night, she could hear how his breathe wheezed and just when he talked, the congestion was painfully obvious. She also doubted his throat felt any better either. Hopefully, he wasn't developing another fever to go with the nausea as well.

Clint held up a hand. 'Wait a minute, Stark. Are we talking waffles here or just some disappointing oatmeal? Because if it's waffles, I'm in.'

'Imagine my relief,' Tony drawled, walking to the kitchen to grab his phone off the kitchen island before walking back so he was standing about a couple of feet behind the couch, not too far in case Bruce needed him.

He looked appropriately ashamed at the missed calls from Pepper, but after Clint explained the situation, he was infinitely relieved.

'I turned it on silent so it wouldn't wake up Bruce,' he explained more to himself as he began to dial the number to order in. 'I forgot about all those calls.'

Bruce stared at the two assassins, confusion written in the lines of his face as Tony began to order enough to feed a small army. 'You're … staying?' He asked unsurely, not taking notice of the conversation about Pepper, but more surprised that Clint and Natasha weren't taking off the first chance they got.

Clint breezed past him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Bruce was too shocked to even think about flinching.

'You heard Stark,' the archer said with a kind grin. 'There's waffles.' He kept on walking to the bathroom, leaving Bruce to sink even more in inner turmoil.

He glanced up at her and she was caught in the intensity of his gaze again, one he gave rarely because he was often too bashful. 'You know, you don't have to right?' He said, sounding guilty. As though he had tricked them into coming when he wasn't really sick. As far as he was concerned, they had bothered themselves unnecessarily enough already without inconveniencing themselves further with something he deemed was nothing.

She shrugged, dropping back into the armchair. 'I know,' she said simply.

Bruce kept on watching her, one eyebrow rising as he said, 'But … you are?'

The hidden question was obvious. _Why? Why would you stay when it's just me? No one should be concerned about me. I'm fine. I'm always fine._

She met his gaze, allowing the intensity she always possessed to filter into her unique green eyes. 'I only ever do what I _want_ to, Bruce.'

He blinked at her. They did one of their stare-offs, but this time, Natasha wasn't unsure in the least and knew she wasn't going to be the one to break it.

Sure enough, his chin finally dipped, but if anything, he looked more conflicted than ever.

She felt like asking him was it that rare for someone to care for him? Thinking back on what his life had been for the past years, she didn't. Why ask questions that she already knew the answers to and make the sick feeling in her stomach grow?

Thankfully, the expression didn't last long on him as Tony finished ordering and jumped over the back of the couch to land next to him. His reaction was instantaneous to the engineer's presence, a smile lighting up his face as his honeyed eyes watched Tony with barely contained appreciation and adoration.

This was how she liked to see Bruce. Open, happy and content. The fact that Tony's chaotic personality brought peace to him was slightly ironic, but she didn't care. Whatever got that confused look off his face at other people caring for him she was all for it.

'What do you say, Red?' Tony asked, clapping Bruce on the knee, causing him to smile shyly at his hands folded in his lap, before turning his piercing chestnut gaze on her. 'Ready for a feast of waffles, hash browns, blueberry smoothies, strawberry Pop-tarts, chocolate-glazed doughnuts and peanut-butter toast?'

Beside him, Bruce went green in a way that had nothing to do with the Other Guy.

Natasha screwed up her nose. 'Clint's right. You do have a questionable taste in food.'

Tony gave her that expression where he appeared slightly affronted, but really didn't give a damn and he knew that her opinion was stupid to begin with anyway. 'I can't really comprehend a sentence that begins with the words, "Clint's right".'

'That's not the only thing you don't comprehend, Stark,' Clint intoned as he came back from down the hallway.

Tony opened his mouth to retort then promptly frowned. 'Is that my shirt?'

Clint grinned wickedly. 'Actually, yeah. I was in my super tight uniform all night so I wanted to be comfortable for breakfast.' He spun on his heels, showing off the AC/DC t-shirt. 'Suits me, yeah?'

Natasha smirked, glancing at Bruce, who had his head down, but raised his eyes cheekily to look at her.

Tony, of course, took the bait. 'Ah, no! Take it off, that's mine.'

'And here I thought you liked to share.' Clint rolled his eyes dramatically before sending a wink at Bruce, who bit his lip, looking like he wasn't sure to laugh or try to sink through the floor. Probably laugh while he was sinking through the floor.

The archer shamelessly pulled off his shirt, holding it out to the black-haired man.

Tony's whole mouth screwed up. 'On second thoughts, keep it. I don't want to get the bird flu or something.'

'You do realise I'm not actually a bird right? Same as you're not literally a man made out of iron.'

'Fine. Then I don't want to catch any Barton cooties.'

Clint placed a hand over his bare chest. 'Ouch. What are you, five?'

'I'm hygienic, GoGo Dodo. I don't just share with _anyone_.'

'Yeah, yeah.' He slipped the shirt back on before sauntering off to the kitchen.

Tony immediately jumped up, following after the archer. 'He's going to try to use my favourite coffee mug, I just know it.'

It was a moment like this that Natasha realised Clint wasn't as oblivious in every social interaction as he was in the romance area. One look at Bruce, who was biting his lip, deep in thought, with no confusion on his face, told her the message worked. When the physicist glanced up, studying Tony as he flew around the kitchen with that manic energy of his, even with a few hours of sleep, she saw his expression shift until his eyes were bright with emotion as it clicked that Tony had unwittingly shown how special he was by allowing him to wear one of the engineer's shirts. As Tony had specifically said, he wouldn't do it for anyone. Only someone particularly _special_ to him. He didn't know why, but it was good enough at the moment that he at least knew.

Ingenious plan on Clint's part, even if it was a little brash. But that was what made Clint Clint.

As the archer secretly snapped a photo of Tony casually passing the back of the couch, absently ruffling Bruce's hair, which caused his face to light up, all melancholy sadness fleeing from him, she knew she wouldn't trade the way the archer was for the world.

The food was soon delivered, which Clint had to go get from the lobby after an epic game of paper, scissors, rocks. Bruce soon excused himself to the bathroom not long after long Clint came back, the numerous odours wafting out of the stacked boxes. At Tony's concerned features, he smiled reassuringly before disappearing.

Breakfast time was actually surprisingly blissful. Clint was too busy stuffing his face to snark with Stark while Tony was in an abnormally peaceful mood, making pleasant conversation with Natasha without trying to get a rise from her. He appeared fairly harmless like this though his eyes were forever glimmering with a cheeky light. She couldn't imagine that light ever going out though and frankly, it wouldn't be right.

After about twenty minutes, the engineer began glancing down the hallway. Natasha found herself doing it too until Clint said, 'For God sakes, someone please check on him before one of youse get whiplash.'

Natasha decided not to point out how his eyes kept flickering to the hallway as well.

Tony snorted in reply, but got up anyway, strides quick as he disappeared around the corner. The only sound for a while was Clint drowning another two waffles in whipped cream and the gentle clinking of ice against glass in Natasha's orange juice.

The frantic call of her name broke the peaceful glow the morning had.

She was flying down the hallway, everything discarded, Clint right behind her, and before she knew it, she was in the expansive bathroom.

Tony was kneeling on the tiled floor, Bruce's head in his lap. At first, it appeared he was passed out, but she could actually hear the mumbled, ''M fine,' over the roaring in her ears.

The engineer's head jerked to them, eyes fearful. 'I found him on the floor. I think he passed out.' His chestnut coloured irises became begging. 'What should we do?'

Natasha did what she always did on a mission. Shoved every emotion that could interfere with her acquiring her target into a tiny, padlocked box then got on with it.

She was beside the two scientists in a flash, pressing her index and middle fingers to the side of Bruce's neck. His pulse was a bit erratic but very strong. Sweat was beading on his forehead and he was warm to the touch again, though not as bad as last night. He was wheezing painfully, more congested than she realised. He'd hid it well. One glance at the toilet led her to her conclusion.

'I think he blacked out from throwing up. His pulse is fine. We just need to do something for his breathing.'

Tony nodded quickly, but didn't look any more comforted. His Adam's apple moved painfully as he swallowed, trying to wet his dry throat.

She gently patted Bruce's cheek. 'Doc? You with us?'

'Mmhm,' he hummed, eyes thin slits, fluttering green before settling back into the usual brown swirls, squinting against the bathroom light.

It suddenly dimmed and Tony glanced to the ceiling gratefully.

JARVIS. She would have found that fact freaky if she wasn't so concentrated about the nearly comatose physicist on the bathroom floor.

'Clint.' She waved him forward.

He stepped closer, arms already out to carry the downed man. He paused when Tony clutched Bruce to him.

'No,' he said. 'I've got this.'

A tiny frown flittered across the archer's serious features, but he wordlessly obeyed, watching quietly as Tony gathered the smaller man into his arms. The engineer lifted him easily, bride-style, showing off his biceps Natasha didn't realise he had as he brought Bruce to his chest and stood.

The walk out to the lounge room was tense, so opposite to the atmosphere just a few minutes ago. Clint lagged behind, quickly cleaning up the bathroom, before joining them. Natasha disappeared into the kitchen to get a syrup that would break the congestion and a bowl for any vomiting or coughing resulting in mucus that was sure to occur, thanks to the medicine. She also grabbed a box of tissues.

When she re-entered, Bruce had roused somewhat, eyes bleary, but slowly coming into focus. As she came closer, she could hear his voice, so blocked up and scratchy that it sounded painful.

'But I'm fine.'

'So you keep telling us,' Clint said dryly, Advil and a glass of water already in his hands. She could always depend on Clint in any situation, be it a nearly suicidal mission or simply taking care of a sick friend.

Bruce tossed a half-hearted glare in the archer's vicinity before turning attention to where he was at the moment. Tony had actually kept Bruce firmly in his lap and propped the smaller man against his chest, arms wrapped around his fellow scientist to keep him in place. It was a wise move, making sure Bruce didn't take unexpectedly try to kiss the floor again and keeping him sitting up would alleviate the pressure for him to simply breathe.

Upon realising his position, the physicist blushed a deep red, the colour reaching down his neck and he weakly squirmed. Tony actually _shushed_ him and leaned down to mumble in the smaller man's ear. Whatever the engineer said did nothing to lessen the blush, but Bruce stopped squirming.

Natasha was too preoccupied to tease, pouring some of the eucalyptus-smelling liquid into a large spoon. At Bruce's mutinous look, she stared him down with a death glare that she knew would have made Pepper proud.

'Open,' she commanded in a soft voice that she knew Bruce knew meant business.

The physicist didn't need to be told twice and accepted the spoon offered to him, swallowing the medicine with a barely concealed wince.

'What you like to try some lemon tea for your throat?' Clint asked, holding out the glass of water.

'Don't know if I'd be able to keep it down,' Bruce replied hoarsely. He reached for the glass, but his right hand shook so hard that he nearly spilled it all over himself and Tony if Clint hadn't quickly steadied it. When the archer simply held it to Bruce's lips along with the tablets, the physicist's blush was back full force.

'You don't have to …' he mumbled, trailing off as his eyes ricocheted everywhere, but directly at Clint.

His teammate smirked and raised an eyebrow. 'I know that, Doc.' When Bruce didn't respond, he waved the objects to emphasise their presence. 'But you have to take this stuff. Non-negotiable.'

When Bruce curled into himself, looking like he really, _really_ wanted the floor to swallow him up, Tony gave him a friendly squeeze. 'Come on, big man,' he coaxed, voice soft. He was mostly staying eerily silent. 'I promise you'll find a way to embarrass us all equally as much sometime in the future, all right?'

'I highly doubt that,' Bruce mumbled wryly, but he did accept Clint giving him the tablets and water, wince becoming more prominent with each swallow.

'I'll make you tea,' Clint said, putting the glass on the table and Vapour-Rub before starting to walk to the kitchen. 'You can just try to sip on it.'

Natasha snatched up the cloth. 'I'll be right back.'

'Wait,' Tony said, finally detaching a hand from his hold on Bruce and snapped his fingers. 'Give me the Vapour-Rub.'

She blinked at him. 'I thought you hated that stuff.'

'I do,' he replied calmly, hand still held out.

Studying him for a moment, she handed the small blue bottle to him, giving the engineer a tiny, sideways smile. He didn't quite know how to return it so just nodded.

When she came back, Bruce's neck was all shiny and it looked like it went into his shirt as well. The smell of the ointment was strong in the air. Expecting to see remnants of embarrassment on Bruce's countenance, she was surprised to find him slumped against Tony's chest, body completely lax and eyes half-lidded. However, they narrowed when they saw her cloth.

'What are you planning to do with _that_?'

'Wipe down your face,' she replied simply.

If Bruce had looked awkward before, he was downright mortified now. His horrified expression even made Tony crack a grin, which was the first time he smiled since finding Bruce on the bathroom floor.

When she approached, Bruce promptly shrunk back, glancing around, looking for an escape route.

Natasha rolled her eyes and knew amusement was leaking into her voice when she said, 'All right, _Doc_. We can do this the hard way or the easy way.'

Bruce glared at her, though it was weak. 'You'll make me angry.'

It was a threat/joke that several months ago would have had her reaching for her firearm. Now, she simply raised a bored eyebrow at him.

Seeing he wasn't going to win this argument, he ground out a, ' _Fine_.'

Not bothering to hide her triumphant grin, she moved forward and began gently wiping down his face, enjoying using her hands for something else than pulling a trigger or throwing a knife. Bruce would now and then stubbornly jerk his head of range just to be of nuisance and she was taking more pleasure in getting a rise out of him than she really should have.

'Really, Doc,' she drawled when he pulled away again. 'I did this last night to you.'

'Yeah, but last night was …' he let that trail off and ducked his head closer to Tony where he obviously felt safer and Tony's smirk softened into a fond grin.

What he implied was in the air. Last night was meant to be a one night deal, just to help out Tony and why the hell were they still doing what they were doing?

She always felt actions were better than words and gave one more wipe of his forehead, taking care to be particularly gentle. He blinked at her soft touch, but wouldn't look at her, instead studying the threads of Tony's Black Sabbath t-shirt.

Smiling to herself at that, she went to see how Clint was doing, but stopped dead when she heard the elevators ding. As she vaulted over the couch to grab the gun she put underneath the table, she vaguely noticed Tony sit up and protectively turn his shoulder so he was putting himself in between Bruce and whatever was coming out of the elevator.

Before they could do much more, a voice with a slight Brooklyn accent called out, 'Hello? Anybody home?'

Sighing, letting the adrenaline calm in her body, she let the arm aiming her gun fall to her side. 'We're in here, Captain.'

Tony slumped back on the couch, puffing a breath through his cheeks, while Bruce blinked hazily, everything happening too fast for his sick-addled brain and body to comprehend.

Steve and unsurprisingly to Natasha, Thor rounded the corner. Both immediately froze.

Bruce returned their gazes with a confused and bewildered one of his own, unable to really comprehend this turn of events. Tony looked like he didn't know whether to make an inappropriate joke or just ignore their presences.

It was Thor that broke the silence. 'Good doctor! You do not look well.'

Clint coughed in the kitchen, 'Subtle.'

Steve studied Bruce for a while longer before turning to Natasha, clear blue eyes accusing. 'You said he was better.'

Natasha squared her shoulders as she hid the gun on her body and raised her chin. 'He _was_.' Then she added, 'Earlier.'

Steve didn't look impressed and he was even less impressed as he turned to Tony. 'And you! You don't call someone seventeen times then make it impossible for them to get on to you.'

'So you ignore me seventeen times and I can't ignore you?' Tony shot back, but there was no real heat to his words as he absently followed Thor's path when the demigod approached the couch.

Steve rubbed a hand to his temple. 'Tony.'

'Steve,' the engineer mimicked right back, causing Clint to snort in the kitchen.

Bruce's mouth dropped open as he ran all their words back through his head and he turned to Tony. 'You called him _seventeen_ times?'

Tony shrugged one shoulder, the action awkward with Bruce still curled in his lap and one arm wrapped around Bruce's back, giving him support if needed. 'I called Pepper twenty-seven times.'

'She was impressed by that by the way,' Clint said dryly, coming back into the lounge room with a mug of steaming tea in his hand.

Bruce groaned, going to bury his face in Tony's chest, the area just under his neck. He seemed to realise what he was about to do, which caused him to pause, blinking in surprise. He was distracted by Thor crouching down near the couch.

The demigod smiled kindly at the much smaller man. 'How do you fair, son of Banner?'

Bruce smiled a little, always appearing to enjoy Thor's speech. When he opened his mouth, he was taken over by some coughing, but it wasn't near as bad as last time. His whole body wasn't wracked with the movement, but it soon became obvious he was going to cough up phlegm.

Natasha snatched up the tin bowl for him and held it to his mouth. Bruce didn't acknowledge her as the poor guy hacked up a heap of mucus, one hand clutching his throat. When he caught his breath, the red in his cheeks wasn't from the coughing.

'Sorry,' he mumbled as Thor eased on to the couch to give him some space.

Before Natasha could consider slapping him upside the head, Steve's shaky voice interrupted her thought process.

'Is he …' here, he cleared his throat, blue eyes alight with panic. 'Are you sure he's okay?'

It was obvious the soldier was thinking back to what would happen to people in the 1940s who had a cough like that. It had nearly happened to him. Even Thor was peering at Bruce with deep concern in his dark blue eyes.

Natasha allowed a comforting quirk of her lips. 'Don't worry, Rogers. This sort of stuff really is in control in the 21st century.'

Steve nodded, but he didn't look entirely convinced.

Bruce tried to smile, but this time it came out as more of a pained grimace then when he actually did grimace. 'I'm fine. Seriously. You didn't have to come.'

His hoarse voice made Steve look even less convinced even though Natasha hadn't thought that possible.

'You sound in terrible pain,' Thor said bluntly, concern gracing his kind features. He turned to Clint, who was standing next to the two scientists, mug still in hand. 'What may I do to assist?'

Clint shrugged. 'Nothing at the moment.' He sent a smile to Tony. 'He's in pretty good hands now.'

Tony stared at Clint, for once too nonplussed to give a retort instantly.

Then, Clint added, because he could never help himself. 'Literally.'

Bruce's blush was back in full force. 'Oh hell!' He groaned and suddenly pushed himself to his feet.

Immediately, his eyes glazed and he faltered.

Natasha felt a cry grow in her throat as she realised what was going to occur, but the shouts of others drowned out any sound that might have happened.

Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, it was Tony's quick thinking that saved Bruce from planting it. He shot up, catching Bruce around the shoulders and waist, as the physicist listed sideways. Tony used the fall to his advantage and spun with him, gracefully lifting and placing Bruce back on the couch.

'For a doctor, you're a clueless patient.' Despite his words being harsh, he was crouched beside the couch, calloused hand resting on Bruce's forehead as the sick man coughed and gasped from the sudden movement.

'Hear, hear,' Clint grumbled, looking mournfully at the tea he spilt on the floor as he'd dashed forward to try to do something.

Thor nodded sagely, hands on his hips as he sat.

Steve was frozen to his spot, studying Tony with an intensity Natasha was used to seeing on his demeanour when working out strategies in battles.

Bruce, when there was finally a lull in his wheezing, glared blearily up at Tony though he leaned into the engineer's surprisingly gentle touch without realising he was. 'About time … you returned the favour … of me stopping you … from face-planting.'

Tony grinned, amused Bruce could retort when he could barely breathe. 'Feisty one, aren't you, Oscar the Grouch?'

Bruce rolled his eyes at the terrible nickname, wincing as the movement caused his head to throb. 'I learnt from the best.'

This time, Tony's smile was the most genuine it had been since the morning took the turn for the worst. He reached out and squeezed Bruce's forearm. 'That you did, Brucie. I still think though that you need to learn to exit a room better. The key is to actually, you know … exit.'

Bruce's chuckles were quickly drowned out by his coughs.

Steve was snapped out of his daze and he stepped forward. 'Sit him up,' he instructed. 'Lying down is going to make him cough more.'

Instead of giving a sarcastic retort, Tony simply nodded his thanks and slipped his hands under Bruce's armpits, easily lifting him. Bruce was malleable and allowed Tony to do what he wanted. The physicist smiled gratefully when after being propped against the couch corner, legs lying along the cushions, his spluttering eased though he did cough up more mucus into the bowl Natasha placed in his lap. His face was red again and his head stayed firmly down.

Clint came up and eased the bowl out of his hands, which he had been gripping so tightly that his fingertips turned white. 'Here,' he said, offering the mug. 'Crush this instead.'

Bruce snorted softly and went to reach for it, but it soon became apparent his hands were still too shaky. If anything, they were a bit worse from nearly collapsing again. Before Clint could even offer it his lips, Bruce curled tightly into himself. It was like the arrival of both Steve and Thor was a bit too much for him to take and he felt too broken open so had to protect himself.

The archer found the mug taken from his hands and Tony crouched back down next to Bruce, steaming liquid now in his grasp.

'I've got this,' he said and Natasha felt a weird well of pride in her chest at his confidence.

Steve clapped his hands, seeing the tension in Bruce, and deciding to distract attention from him. 'I actually know a really good recipe for a soup that really helps a cold. Do you have much in the kitchen?'

Clint thumbed behind him. 'We've got waffles and peanut butter toast. Are those any good?'

Steve blinked and when he realised Clint wasn't actually joking, he shook his head. 'Ah, no.' He glanced at Bruce again, whose shoulders had loosened as Tony began talking about a new algorithm he was working on that would allow him to summon his Iron Man armour without an assembly machine, but to have separate parts come to him when he beckoned. The blonde soldier indicated to the kitchen with a quirk of his head. 'Would you like to give me a tour so I can see what I can use for myself?'

Clint blinked. 'I haven't used the kitchen, I just …' he trailed off as Natasha stomped on his foot then cheerfully rejoined with, '… would love to show you anyway though.'

He shot her a dirty look as he left. Steve followed after him, clapping a hand on Tony's right shoulder as he walked past.

The engineer glanced to his right then left then back at his shoulder again, first trying to figure out who had touched him and then figuring out why, judging by the little wrinkle in between his eyebrows. He did all this while never pausing in his explanation to Bruce.

Natasha simply waved for Thor to follow her. The demigod looked like he wanted to argue, but when she raised her eyebrows pointedly and glanced at Bruce, he nodded with a sigh, clasping his knees as he pushed himself to his feet.

They ate what was left of the breakfast, both Thor and Steve having not eaten that day, coming straight from SHIELD to the Tower. It turned out there were ingredients in the fridge and after finishing off four doughnuts, Steve began making a broth that smelt better than it looked. Clint began giving them a run-down on what had happened during the night, tactfully skipping past the part where Bruce had hallucinated some pretty terrible visions. Steve was making sympathetic noises while Thor's frown deepened, not liking to hear his teammate had tried to hide or play down his sickness.

Natasha tuned out, absently sipping some coffee. Hoarse chuckles drew her attention. Unable to help herself, she got up and peeked around a kitchen cupboard to the lounge room.

Tony was still crouched next to the couch, holding the mug of tea in his hand. Bruce had completely uncurled and he was leaning back into the couch, all traces of tension and embarrassment completely gone, knees propped up, making an arc. Both their heads were leaned close together and Bruce kept on laughing, which sometimes turned into shallow coughs, at whatever Tony was coming out with. Now and then, Tony would hold up the mug and Bruce would obediently sip from it, no embarrassment whatsoever, but instead, smiled excitedly as Tony would then continue on with his story.

Something was said that caused Bruce to look down, shame plastered all over his face like a scolded child who had just got caught doing something naughty. This made Tony playfully head-butt the side of Bruce's head, just at his temple, smile loving and cheeky at the same time. The physicist responded with shoving Tony weakly in the shoulder, smile firmly back on his face, adoration palpable as Tony launched into something else, only pausing to get Bruce to drink, then continuing on.

''Tis a lovely connection, is it not?'

She didn't jump or even get a hitch in her breath. Thor's footsteps had alerted her and she didn't care he knew she was spying. It was in her job description. Of course she was going to do it every chance she got.

She watched as Tony held the mug up to Bruce, saying the words, 'Careful, bud, it's still hot', before responding to the demigod.

'It … is,' she said slowly, realising the truth of her statement as she glanced to her right to where Thor had come to stand, watching the interactions as well.

Thor's smile was large as he watched the two. He didn't play down his emotions like basically everyone else on the team. If he felt happy, sad, depressed, he never saw the need to filter it. She had a respect for him for that.

'One that is often not appreciated,' he commented, glancing down at the cup of hot chocolate in his massive hands. 'I know I did not as much as I could have.' He glanced at her, dark blue eyes expressive with sorrow. 'Regret is an unwelcome bedfellow.'

Natasha nodded, meeting his gaze. 'I can understand that,' she said, velvet voice strong with honesty.

He nodded his appreciation at her words before taking a sip of his drink.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, keeping Bruce and Tony in her peripheral vision. 'The way you talk about your battles though, you sound like you've always appreciated your teammates.'

Thor paused before nodding with consideration. 'Aye, I did. But, alas, that was not the connection I was referring to.'

She blinked at that, turning fully to Thor. A wrinkle appeared in her forehead as she ran his words through again. She hated not being able to figure something out for herself and having to ask but she hated more simply not knowing.

'What connection are you talking about?'

Thor looked confused for a moment, blonde eyebrows low before they rose as he grinned. 'Surely you see that the Man of Iron and the good doctor are more than simply teammates?'

She considered his words, nodding with his reasoning. The assassin glanced at the two scientists. Bruce was shaking his head back and forth, curls brushing against his forehead, though he was smirking while Tony's smile was positively devilish. 'Yes. Friends.' Then, she corrected herself, 'Best friends.'

Thor waved his massive hand from side to side in a 'So-so' motion. 'In a way. The bond I'm talking about is so much stronger again though.' He clenched his digits into a fist to emphasise his point.

Before she could even comprehend what he meant or question him on it, Steve's reprimanding scream of 'Tony!' caused her to spin around and look back into the lounge room.

The engineer was amazingly balanced on a pile of four books on the _glass_ coffee table, hands out wide. He looked incredibly smug and proud of himself. Bruce was staring up at him, attempting to look disapproving, but was too busy trying to stop himself from cracking up.

'There are a problem, Capsicle?'

'Damn right there's a problem, get off the table before you break it or your neck!'

'My place, Capsicle, I can break what I want.'

'I think it is inadvisable to break one's own neck,' Thor intoned, amused grin on his face at the eccentric billionaire's antics.

'Might be an improvement,' Clint piped in helpfully, which earned him a warning glare from Steve.

Natasha rolled her eyes at the lot of them. Her phone vibrating in her pocket distracted her from the scene.

Stepping away into a corner of the huge kitchen, far enough away not to be interrupted by the lecture Steve was winding up to give Tony, she answered the phone.

'Hello, Director Fury.'

'You've postponed debriefing two times in the last twenty-four hours. So, I was guessing that either the world is ending or Barton talked you into lolly-gagging. And since no one's pressed the big, red button to tell me that the world is ending, I know which one it is.'

An annoyance flared up in her chest, but she kept her voice perfectly level. 'A situation arose that I couldn't get around.'

'My sources tell me that you are at Stark Tower.'

Fury's sources meant that he had simply tracked the GPS on one of their phones.

She didn't back down. 'That is where the situation arose.' For some reason, she didn't want to tell him Bruce was ill. It somehow felt like selling the gentle scientist out when he was vulnerable even though she knew Fury wouldn't pull anything.

'I'm sure,' he drawled. 'Emergency team bonding night?'

'No, Director. A situation that required both Agent Barton and I's attention.' She added, 'It was important.'

Behind her, Steve was talking loudly and strongly, which was his version of shouting. 'I swear, I'm going grey since I met you, Stark.'

'You're _ninety_. Who are you to complain that you get a grey hair at _ninety_.'

Clint started up then, never one to be left out. 'Who wants to vote Steve as team mum?'

'Oh, oh!' Tony was right in on it, of course. 'You can be like Wendy and we'll be the Lost Boys. Natasha's so Tinkerbell.'

She made a mental note to maim Tony.

'I call Peter Pan!' Clint shouted.

'No way, I wanted to be Peter Pan!'

Steve was vigorously massaging his temples when she glanced over her shoulder.

'I called it first. You can be John.'

'Do I look like John? I'll be the dude in the fox suit. I can work with that. He could so overthrow Peter Pan as team leader. How about you, Brucie? Want to be Michael? A onesie would suit you down to the ground.'

A slapping sound echoed through the kitchen.

'Wait, how is friend Steven meant to be team mother? Does he not have to be female to be so?'

'That's sexist, Point Break. Not cool. Not … cool.'

There was dead silence on the phone before Fury snorted. 'I can hear that,' he deadpanned.

Though she should have felt annoyed at the lunatics behind her, she couldn't help but feel protective as the vision of Bruce curled into the corner of the couch, coughing and feverish, flashed through her mind.

She straightened up and kept her mask of blank indifference in place despite Fury not able to see her. 'We did what we knew was necessary. We are Avengers and we tended to Avengers business.'

'You're being purposefully vague, Agent Romanov. There was no call to assemble and it wasn't even Thursday night.'

Her eyes narrowed at his derogatory tone on the last few words. 'As I said, Director. _Avengers_ business.

There was a pause. 'Very well. As one of the Avengers, I would like you to pass on to Mr. Stark that I require him to come in for a meeting within the following week. Just him.'

There was something much more there. The tone of his voice told her this was a request that had been made a lot and turned down every single time. Fury was wanting her to be more of a SHIELD agent than an Avenger and wrangle the billionaire in for him.

She simply gave a sharp nod and said, 'I'll pass on the message.'

He also knew what she meant by that. She wasn't going to do his dirty work for him or get involved in whatever power play was going on between him and Tony.

'Very well,' he said again then added, 'but I would tread carefully, Agent Romanov.'

It wasn't a threat to her job. It was a warning about which side she was choosing and asking if she was choosing the right one.

She didn't bother commenting. 'We will debrief no later than tomorrow night.'

'Please escort Stark with you.' He hung up, not waiting for an answer.

She snapped the phone shut with more force than necessary. Whatever was going on between Stark and Fury would soon come to a head. She could feel it. However, once again, her senses didn't detect anything vile happening on either side so for the moment, she would be sitting this one out. She would make it her business when necessary.

Clint glanced at her when she came in, but she just simply shook her head. She did not want to go there.

Her dark mood lightened considerably when Bruce didn't shut himself down with everyone back in the room. He did look beyond confused and a little troubled when they all settled, obviously planning to stay. However, the banter had resulted in him not feeling so self-conscious. He did blush and mumble, 'You really shouldn't have' when Steve brought him some of the soup.

Tony looked dubiously at the food in the bowl he had taken from the soldier and held it out as far away from himself as possible, whole face screwing up. 'Are you sure this is edible? Or legal?'

Clint snorted while Thor chuckled. Steve deigned to answer with a roll of his eyes, which was quickly becoming his fall-back position for dealing with the sharp-tongued genius.

Bruce turned an amused smile on his science partner, embarrassment forgotten, and leaned over to get a better look at the soup. 'It looks better than your stir-fry.' The physicist tried to look innocent, but failed miserably.

'Way to cut my heart out, Banner,' Tony retorted, scooping some of the broth into a spoon and holding it up for Bruce to take.

Bruce hesitated for the briefest of moments then accepted the spoon, only a light pink blush spreading across the tops of his cheeks. It soon faded though when Tony continued in the banter, saying, 'That's the last time I cook for you and Pepper ever again.'

'Sorry, Tony,' he automatically replied before shooting a grateful look to Steve who had settled in his armchair. 'Thanks for this. It's really good.'

Steve waved off his thanks, looking pleased while Tony raised a disbelieving eyebrow, thinking Bruce was too polite to say how foul it really was.

Bruce smirked at the engineer and indicated to the bowl with a weak wave of a shaky hand. 'Try it and see for yourself,' he offered, able to read Tony's expression immediately.

Tony's mouth comically screwed up again. 'Does it have tequila in it?' he asked Steve.

The blonde man shook his head, unwilling amusement creeping on to his youthful features.

'Then I'll pass,' Tony declared, holding up another spoonful for Bruce.

Bruce chuckled, accepting the mouthful without second thought this time.

Natasha felt inexplicably warm just watching the two of them and all remnants of anger at Fury seeped away into the nothingness.

The morning returned to one of almost a domestic routine. Thor and Steve cleaned up while Tony talked Bruce into getting his temperature taken again. It was still 101.4 degrees, but at least it hadn't rose any and Bruce had managed to keep down the tea as well as soup. The poor man looked beyond exhausted though, eyes heavily lidded, but he still sat up straight, not allowing himself to nod off.

Clint suggested a round of cards, which was calm enough not to stir up Bruce, but enough to keep him occupied from his sick misery. When Bruce shakily tried to sort the cards in his hand, almost dropping them several times, Tony reached over from his place to the left of the physicist and plucked the items from his hand.

'Brucie and I will share,' he said to no one in particularly then leaned closer to Bruce so he could whisper conspiratorially with him. Bruce smiled at him adoringly.

Steve turned a wide-eyed gaze on her and mouthed the word, 'Share?'

She smirked at that. Tony's behaviour had been a shock to her last night, but surprisingly quickly, she had gotten used to it, not that she wasn't watching it and enjoying the whole dynamic any less. She understood though Steve's shock at how the prickly genius could be downright … well, _loving_ to someone other than Pepper. It was quite amazing really.

The game continued and actually stayed rather peaceful, all teammates toning down their personalities so not to overwhelm the sick man.

This team was all right and a zap of real affection zapped through somewhere deep down within her at the realisation of what everyone was doing for the unassuming man not-so-subtly fighting a battle with sleep.

Finally, Bruce lost out and listed into Tony's side.

Both Steve and Thor glanced out of the corner of their eyes to see the reaction to that.

Tony didn't even blink as he detached a hand from the cards to drape a casual arm around the smaller man's shoulders, securing Bruce to his side, allowing the head of curls to rest on his shoulder.

Steve tried to hide a smile behind his hand of cards, but she saw it as well as his eyes re-evaluating again the billionaire on the couch.

Thor looked down at his cards, sadness permeating off his body, but he still smiled when Bruce hummed softly in his sleep, tucking his head into the side of Tony's neck. The engineer absently squeezed him tighter, quick eyes examining his cards, but inexplicably happy.

Clint's phone buzzed and he peered at it over the top of his cards. 'Pepper says to turn your phone off silent or face the consequences.'

Tony winced and waved the hand containing his cards towards a dresser near the television that his phone had somehow travelled to then looked towards Thor. 'Be a pal, Conan, and grab it for me?'

Thor blinked at Tony for a moment before he realised that it was actually him the billionaire addressed.

'You have odd ways, Man of Iron,' he commented, but grabbed the phone all the same.

Tony snorted, grabbing the item and flicking it on. 'Says the man who eats chocolate with a knife and fork.'

'That's wrong on so many levels, man,' Clint chipped in, grey eyes intense on his cards.

Thor good-naturedly chuckled at their ribbing as he gathered his cards again.

Natasha was sitting next to Tony so she could see when Pepper's face appeared on the screen of the phone.

Tony's face lit up, skin crinkled prominently around his eyes. 'Hi, Pep,' he said.

Natasha hid her smirk at his excitement, despite the possibility of him getting ripped into. He was just too happy to see the person who his world revolved around.

Pepper's head cocked to the side. 'Tony. You're not in your lab?'

'Nope,' Tony said, popping the 'P', smile becoming proud as he held the phone out further so she could see the physicist sleeping on him. 'I'm here with Bruce and the team.'

Pepper's expression melted at the scene and any lecture she could have possibly been planning to give her boyfriend flew out the window. 'Oh, Tony, you stayed there. That … that makes me so happy, Tony.'

She didn't say the words implied because of everyone else being there. That she knew how hard it was for Tony to stay near someone sick because he was convinced he would somehow make it worse.

Tony swelled like a child who had just been given a gold star, beyond thrilled he pleased Pepper.

Though initially listening into the conversation, Clint quickly grew bored and began to teach Thor how he could cheat in poker. Steve looked on disapprovingly, but held his tongue.

Natasha mentally rolled her eyes at her lunatic team before glancing over at the billionaire next to her.

He was chatting away happily to Pepper, practically preening under her attentions. His smile became huge as she said she would be home later on that day. Beside him, Bruce coughed softly before burrowing deeper into the engineer's hold. Pepper practically squealed at the sight, causing Steve, Clint and Thor to laugh, hints of sappy smiles on all of them. Tony simply ignored them all, full concentration on Pepper.

Natasha contently leaned back and sipped her cup of coffee, taking one more glance at Tony talking animatedly while his right arm never strayed from his protective hold on his sick best friend.

She had chosen the right side.

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The next chapter will contain some action :). Also note, I don't hate Fury. I actually think he is a pretty cool guy and you will all see why he is acting the way he is in the next chapter.

Also, am I the only one that loves Tony and Natasha's friendship? Lol, I love reading about them getting on in other stories.

Again, comments are greatly appreciated :).


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